A Strange Kinda' Time Loop
by SomeoneElsesShoes
Summary: When a strange girl accidentally orbs into the Charmed Ones kitchen, dark secrets from somebody's past begin to emerge. History repeats itself once again, the sisters discover that apples really don't fall far from the forbidden tree. UPDATED FINALLY!
1. Chapter 1

"I'm gonna be late! I'm gonna be late!" Phoebe squealed as she hurtled down the staircase of the Charmed Ones home.

"Woa!" said Piper holding up her hands and dropping a mug of coffee, as Phoebe collided with her en-route to the kitchen. "Seriously! Slow down!!"

"Sorry" winced Phoebe grabbing a bagel. "PAIGE!"

"Geesh! What's all the noise about- Darklighter? Better not be its 7:00 in the morning and I'm soo not in the mood!" groaned Paige, orbing in from upstairs, still in her pyjamas and rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"No sweetie- I'm super late for work. Could you possibly orb me there?"

"Super late? It's super early!"

"Well for NORMAL people" sighed Phoebe, "but unfortunately, Elise is on some kinda journalist marathon and decided to have a staff meeting 'super early' so that… oh I don't know why but I do know my life won't be worth living if I don't get there on time. So d'ya think I could exploit the cosmic taxi just this once?"

"Well… seeing as I'm already awake give me….." Paige's voice trailed off as a swirl of lights appeared above the kitchen and a teenage girl landed on top of the oven.

"What the..?! Shrieked Piper

But nobody looked more surprised than the girl who was now standing in the centre of the kitchen staring from her hands to the three sisters and back again in utter disbelief.

"W..w..w..where the hell am I? Who are you?" she stammered. She was 5"6", about seventeen, slim, with dark hair and porcelain skin. Her eyes flashed emerald green and she would have been beautiful had she not have been soaking wet, covered in scratches and with a large, purple bruise on her left cheek. She seemed rooted to the spot and terrified but she just kept on staring in confusion and horror at the three sisters who gawped back, just as befuddled as the girl.

Finally, Piper spoke- "never mind who we are, who are you? Have you never heard of knocking? Don't you know its plain rude to orb in unannounced like that, especially if you cant even do it accurately- LOOK AT THE MESS!"

"Orb?" questioned the girl.

"Yeah Orb – Geesh!! Whitelighters these days… " Piper took a deep breath as if to start a lecture but was cut short by Paige who placed a hand on her shoulder and muttered to her sisters:

"Innocent?"

"OH not now" groaned Phoebe

"Whitelighter? Orb? Innocent? What are you talking about, where the hell am I and WHO ARE YOU?"

"eeerr… well" began Phoebe, taking charge. " I'm …Phoebe, this is Paige and Piper. What's your name?"

"Phillipa… where am I?"

"Our kitchen honey: 1329 Presott Street, San Francisco, California-"

"The world, the universe…" smirked Piper through gritted teeth then- "OW" as Paige elbowed her in the ribs.

"San Francisco? How on earth can I be in San Francisco??"

"Yeah- you don't sound too local… where are you from?" questioned Paige

"New York… How? Why?"

"Ok!" said Piper, ushering Phillipa towards the living room, "plenty of time for explanations later, lets get you cleaned up. LEO!"

Leo appeared in front of them, Phillipa screamed and fainted.

"Oh!" said Leo- a little confused.

"Oh indeed" scolded Piper. "Go ask the elders why on earth a random teenager who has no idea she can orb has sown up in our kitchen at 7AM and demolished my oven!"

Leo vanished, leaving the sisters and Phillipa (still out cold) in the living room.

"Right!" said Piper. "Phoebe – go get her some dry clothes and I'll check the book to see if … I dunno what I'm looking for but there might be something helpful in there. Paige, you stay and keep and eye on… Phillipa was it?"

Piper and Phoebe disappeared and Paige wandered back to the kitchen to find some antiseptic and a glass of water- figuring that Phillipa would appreciate both when she came around. When Paige returned, Phillipa was awake and still looking confused, Paige handed her the water and began to dap antiseptic on the scratches.

'Thanks… Paige?"

"Yeah. So you're from The Big Apple then?"

"well I guess so… but I don't know what to think any more"

"You know, I spent some time there when I was about your age" continued Paige, brushing over the last comment, not wanting to go down the 'magic' route at this stage.

"Really?"

"Yeah- after my parents died- I was in a pretty bad place and … well… I just needed to get far away. But it turns out- I found a whole new set of shit there. So I came home- best choice I ever made 'cause I found my sisters see. I was adopted" she added as an explanation. "Speaking of family- we need to think about getting in touch with yours, I expect your mom'll be worrying."

"Don't have any family" mumbled Phillipa.

"Oh" said Paige sympathetically

"no need to sound sorry- they didn't die or anything- I was in foster care but I just got a place of my own. I've never had parents, I was found in a box on a bench in Washington Square subway station."

The bottle of antiseptic fell from Paige's hand and shattered on the floor.

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Upstairs in the attic, Piper was half heartedly thumbing through the Book Of Shadows, not expecting to find anything- it was just what she always did, she didn't know why but she couldn't get it out of her head how much like the Halliwells that girl looked- it unnerved her somehow. As she flicked, a familiar breeze swept the pages of the book and fell open on the spell that she and her sisters hadn't used since Prue's funeral.

"What? Well… if you say so Grams… I guess you've proved after all these years that you really do know best." She began to place candles in a circle.

_Hear these words, hear my cry _

_Sprit from the otherside _

_Come to us who call you here_

_Cross now the great divide. _

The familiar glow of lights and a translucent figure appeared in the circle …

"Mom?"

"Hello Piper" beamed Patty Halliwell, stepping out of the ring of candles and hugging her daughter.

"I thought you were Grams"

Her mother laughed "thankfully no darling- where's Paige- its Paige that I need to see- it's quite urgent."

"She's downstairs… with an innocent" said Piper, a little hurt that her mother seemed to have brushed her aside like that.

"Oh crap! You mean she already showed up!" Patty ran from the attic with Piper following curiously behind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The scene that met Patty as she arrived in the living room was one that to Piper made even less sense than the incident half an hour earlier.

Paige was sat, motion less on the sofa- gazing at Phillipa- who was still looking confused and now slightly uncomfortable- with an expression that showed every imaginable emotion all at once. Phoebe meanwhile had returned with clothes and was hovering behind Paige- prodding her from time to time in a vain attempt to gain a response. As Piper and Patty entered, Paige stood up and walked swiftly out of the room and upstairs, not even acknowledging the presence of her dead mother. They heard a door slam above them and the room fell into a tense stillness. Piper couldn't help noticing the hint of a tear in her baby sister's eye.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for reviews everyone. I'm so glad you liked it . Hope enjoy this chapter as well. **

**Paige 34**

**Piper 36**

**Phoebe 35 **

**Other wise the story is a bit illogical. Also, some of the details like when they last cast spells are wrong but I guess that's why it's called fiction. **

**Also, I forgot the disclaimer : I DON'T OWN CHARMED (sob sob) **

**Chapter 2**

Up in her bedroom, Paige paced the length of the room. She was angry- what kind of sick joke was this? But how could it be a joke? Nobody knew about her past- how could they possibly have found out? She was trembling now. The anger, confusion and pain welled up uncontrollably inside her and she picked up the painting she'd been working on and hurled it across the room. It hit a vase of flowers on the window sill. The glass shattered, and the painting, vase and now battered lilies fell to the floor in tangled heap. "O for Goodness sake…" she bent down and began to tidy up the mess. She was still shaking and, as she picked up a shard of glass, it sliced her finger. Crimson blood seeped from the cut, staining her pale skin and mingling with the lilies on the floor. Paige collapsed in a heap and sobbed uncontrollably.

xxxxxxxxxx

Downstairs, they heard the crash. "Is she ok?" Phoebe bit her lip uncomfortably..

"Perhaps we should go and see" said Piper, making for the stairs.

"NO!...I'll go." was Patty's decisive reponnse , then: "well, she is my daughter. You stay here and keep an eye on Phillipa."

"How do you know my name?" But even as she spoke it, her question seemed irrelevant, because Leo chose that moment to orb in.

"Well- the elders have no idea who she is. She's not a future whitelighter, or an innocent, they don't know who she is but, they're pretty certain she not a demon."

"Demon? Who the hell are you people?"

"Smooth Leo… real smooth" said Piper sarcastically. "You've officialy won the job of explaining everything you just said to Phillipa- good luck." She beckoned to Phoebe to follow her into the kitchen.

"What do you think is up with Paige? " Phoebe said once they were out of earshot. "She was just … staring at Phillipa – it was so odd."

"I don't know but it's pretty big- I mean, she didn't even notice Mom and she's always complaining that she missed out on Mom and Grams. But Phoebe- don't you think its odd that Phillipa just orbed in like- she didn't have a clue what was going on – it was just like… well… like…"

"…like when we found Paige?" Phoebe completed Piper 's sentence for her. "Yeah- weirdly similar."

"And, I can't get my head round _how much_ she looks like Paige."

"Oh my gosh- Piper- you don't think she's another sister do you?"

"Well… that's what I thought- I mean why the hell not- if Mom can hide one sister from us, why not another? But… something just doesn't fit. When I summoned Mom, she was so interested in Paige but not me- surely that would include all of us. And Paige just then…"

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"Paige… Paige it's Mom." Patty pushed open the bedroom door, ignoring the lack of response that should have been taken as '_leave me alone_.' She knew that, despite what Paige felt right now, she needed her Mom. Patty after all was the only person who could really come close to understanding what Paige was going through.

"I… I…" Paige swallowed her tears and fell into her mother's arms.

"Sssssh, baby, sssh" Patty soothed. "You don't need to explain, I already know"

"How…? "

"Because I'm your mother Paige… and a ghost- it's a useful combination for keeping an eye on your daughters. O Paige- if you knew how much I wanted to help you… to be there for you when you needed me the most."

"So does this mean I'm not imagining it? Does it mean that… that… she really is…"

"You're baby girl," her mother finished. "Only she's not so much of a baby anymore."

**Please review – its really helpful. **


	3. Chapter 3

_**Ok- personally I think this chapter is pretty good: enjoy. It could be quite harrowing just be warned, depends how much stuff effects you. **_

_**New York City – 17 years earlier.**_

_As the sun set behind the towering apartment blocks of 5__th__ Avenue, a 17 year old girl sat alone on a bench in a deserted area of Central Park. Her hands clasped a polystyrene cup, still full with stone cold coffee and she gazed down at the murky brown liquid, desperately seeking an answer in its rippling surface. Her shoulders slumped and she let out a deep sigh. She was completely alone in the world- her parents where dead, she was two and a half thousand miles away from everything she knew. And now… as if the universe didn't think it'd put her through enough… she had just discovered she was three months pregnant. What the hell was she supposed to do now? She couldn't have a baby- she could barely scrape together enough change for a cup of coffee (coffee she knew she shouldn't even be drinking) let alone support kid. Well… there was only one thing she could do- she'd always been disgusted by the idea in past but now that she was in this position, her perception had changed – it wouldn't be so cruel- what kind of life would the kid have with her? Better no life at all than the shitty one she'd give it. "What else can I do?" She said out loud- standing up and throwing the coffee in the trash can. "I wish you where here Mom- you'd know what to do." The pain of the past four months came flooding back and Paige longed more than ever for her mother to hug her and tell her everything would be alright. But that luxury had been cruelly snatched away and she was left with nowhere to turn and no one to hug her._

_Six months later, Paige struggled up the staircase of her building, her body straining under the combined weight of groceries and the ready to be born baby inside her. She hadn't been able to do it. Deep down she knew she never could have- she felt an unexplainable love for the child and she knew that she had to let this baby live. All the time she'd been waiting in the abortion clinic she was picturing a little face, and tiny feet, and hands and eyes that cried out to her, so she walked out and didn't look back. Only, she hadn't looked forward either. The past six months where a blur and she'd made no plans or preparations, she'd not had any doctor's appointments and had told nobody she was pregnant. At work, she hid her bump under baggy sweatshirt and endured the constant comments that she should 'keep her hand out of the cookie jar.' So when she suddenly found herself crippled with pain as she was hit with her first contraction, she was hit by the horrible realisation that this baby wouldn't stay inside for ever, now it was coming into the world and there was nothing she could do to stop it. _

_Five hours had past. Paige had hauled herself inside her tiny apartment and was now bent over the bath tub, throwing up violently. Her contractions where closer together and more painful now, her water had broken hours ago and she knew it wouldn't be long now. Finally, she felt she couldn't hold on any longer, kneeling on her bathroom floor, she began to push, gritting her teeth in agony but desperately trying to keep quiet so that the neighbours couldn't hear. Minutes later a tiny baby slithered into her arms. She cut the cord herself and wrapped her daughter in a towel. The baby's cries cut through the quiet room. _

"_Ssssh ssssh" Paige rocked the tiny bundle gently, gazing down at the little face, barely visible through the folds of the blood stained towel. And to her amazement the baby quietened, its scrunched up face relaxed and it gazed back at its mother before drifting off to sleep. _

_For hours, Paige sat there, holding her daughter close to her, rocking her backwards and forwards. The baby woke from time to time but Paige found herself able to sooth her. She listened to the little noises the child made and held it's tiny, delicate hand in hers. Tears ran down her cheeks and soaked the into the already blood stained towel. _

_By the time she heard a clock strike midnight, Paige had made up her mind. Bundling the baby in as many clean towels and blankets she could find, she made her way out of her apartment and towards the subway station. After a long train ride to Greenwich Village, Paige finally stepped out onto the cold, deserted platform. Taking on last long look at her sleeping daughter and kissing her tiny forehead, Paige gently placed the bundle on a bench and walked the length of the platform, hid behind a tiled pillar, and waited until she heard voices on the stairs above. _

"I put a note in the blankets- it said Phillipa Madeleine- after my mother." Paige finished her story and erupted into tears, her head resting in Piper's lap. Piper stroked her hair gently and Phoebe squeezed her hand, soothingly running her thumb up and down Paige's finger. Patty leant against the wall of the bedroom, looking at her three youngest daughters, grouped together on Paige's bed. Nobody spoke. Patty had urged Paige to talk to her sisters and, as Leo and her daughter sat downstairs discussing baseball and gradually coming to terms with the concept of magic- oblivious to the events upstairs, Paige told her stunned and wonderfully sympathetic sisters the story of her tragic past.

"Paige?" Phoebe ventured after a few minutes, "she has to know- we need to tell her- _you_ need to tell her."

**Bit of a cliff hanger there… loads more to come. Hope you're enjoying it. Please R&R. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews guys. I hope this chapter is ok- it's a bit of an anticlimax from the last one but it means the story can get going again. Enjoy…**

"How am I even meant to _begin_ to approach this?" Paige paced the perimeter of her bedroom, her stomach churning and a thousand different conversations floating around her head. "What if she doesn't even want to know? I mean for years I told myself that you (she glanced at Patty) didn't matter to me… I'm sorry – I don't feel that now," she added, guilt welling up inside her.

"Exactly" coaxed her mother. "You don't feel that _any more._"

"And that's not how you really felt- is it Paige? You just convinced yourself of it" added Phoebe.

"Wow somebody's empath powers are on fire today," Paige scoffed before sinking onto the bed with a sigh. "You're right – I guess I do- but I'm scared. I'm turning her life upside down and I don't feel like I have any right to do so."

"Just… we'll ease into it…" Piper suggested. "But now. You have to do it now." She put her arm round Paige and gently steered her to the door. "Do you want me to explain to Leo- give you some space- you have to do this by yourself." Paige gave her a grateful flutter of the mouth that was the shadow of a weak but appreciative smile.

xxxxxxxx

The sisters appeared at the kitchen door. "Leo… could you give me a hand with the… the lawn mower" said Piper in a tone Leo knew all too well.

"Right" he said and scuttled out, followed by Piper who paused to give Paige one last supportive hand squeeze.

Paige and Phillipa where left alone, Paige hovering in the doorway and Phillipa perched on a chair. For a moment they just looked at one another then Paige took a deep breath and made her way across they kitchen. "so… New York?" she said by way of starting the conversation.

"Yeh" replied Phillipa.

"And… no mom or dad." Paige knew she was treading on dangerous ground.

"No. like I said before- found in a subway station. Grew up in foster care." Phillipa's tone was surprisingly casual. "Why are you so interested – loads of kids have foster parents it's not exactly an alien concept." She obviously wasn't that keen on discussing her past.

"No… no… so … Washington Square, I know Washington Square." Paige's voice began to tremble.

"Yeah how come"

"Because…" she took a breath. "Because I left my baby daughter there on September 14th 1990."

Silence.

Paige's eyes studied Phillipa's face, searching for a response. Phillipa stared back. Unable to comprehend what Paige had just said. She'd dreamed of this moment all her life. Yes, she'd told herself that she didn't care, that if somebody didn't love her enough to keep her then why should she give a damn about them, but deep down she longed to know who her mother was. But now it was really happening… it felt so strange. She wasn't blissfully happy like she always thought she would be, she wasn't even angry. She just was. And that confused her. Even all the questions like why? And did you ever try to find me seemed irrelevant. She stared back at Paige.

"I'm so so sorry" Paige finally said. "I… I … I was 17."

"You don't have to explain" Phillipa understood. She didn't know how but somehow, she just understood. Paige's eyes told her everything she needed to know- they were filled with love, pain, regret and hope- they told the story of the past 17 years in one tearful gaze. She reached out and placed her hand over Paige's. "It's ok- I understand."

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3 days later, Paige and Phillipa stood side by side staring into Paige's full length mirror. "I've definatly got your nose" said Phillipa.

"And my mouth" added Paige. "Infact- it's practically like looking at my twin- you look just like I did at 17."

"Not true" smiled Phillipa "I've not got your eyes."

"No, they're definitely not mine- shame though- they're beautiful." They both smiled. Paige slid her hand into Phillipa's. "Look, I know I've got no right to start trying to be your Mom, as much as I would like to, but… do you think friend would be acceptable?... for now."

Phillipa nodded. "I think that would be nice" she smiled.

"So… as a friend," Paige began, "Can I ask you one question?"

"Sure"

"Where did that bruise come from?"

"Well…" replied Phillipa, "as a friend… I'll answer your question if you'll answer mine. Who is my dad?"

**I really wanna continue this chapter but it's waaaaay to late at night… **


	5. Chapter 5

"Why won't you answer my question?" Phillipa pleaded with Paige.

"Because it's complicated." Paige's voice was vague. "Here, try this" she thrust an emerald green t-shirt towards Phillipa, "it'll match your eyes." They were out shopping, having decided that Phillipa would stay at the manor they now realised she couldn't borrow Paige's clothes forever. And so she and her mother had headed out to buy Phillipa something of her own to wear before she started high school the next week.

"But-"

"But, nothing – look, I just need some time, we will talk about it I promise but just not right now."

Phillipa sighed. Now that she'd got her Mom, she really wanted to know about her dad. It annoyed her that her Mom was so reluctant to tell her- she said herself that she didn't have a right to be all 'mom' like, so it was unfair of Paige to be so secretive. But Phillipa didn't want to pester too much- she new how hard her mom found it to talk about her life 17 years ago and she didn't want to push her or drive a wedge between them. They got on well but they had only really known each other a few weeks. Besides, in a way, Phillipa felt she should be grateful: never having had a real family, she now found herself with aunts, an uncle, a grandmother and great-grandmother (granted they were ghosts but they still dropped by and taught her how to mix potions) and more than anything- Phillipa had a mom- was it being greedy to want, on top of all this, a dad as well?

"Come on- let's try this lot on!" Called Paige and Phillipa followed her into the dressing rooms.

An hour later, loaded with shopping, they walked towards a café. "You go inside and find a table, I'm just going to the ATM machine," Paige told Phillipa and headed across the street. On her way back, not watching where she was going, Paige collided with a tall man in white shirt. "Sorry" she muttered, not looking up.

"Paige?" he said "Paige Matthews"

"Yes." She looked up. Bright green eyes flashed down at her. "Henry?"

"Oh my gosh! Paige! You haven't changed a bit! What it's been…"

"17 years." Paige spoke flatly and lump rising in her throat.

"What happened to you Paige? You stopped returning my calls, cut me out- I tried for weeks to contact you but you just …_vanished._"

"Well it wasn't exactly the best time in my life was it?" Paige snapped. "Sorry- its just. Look- can we continue this some other time?"

"What and risk you cutting me out again? I missed you Paige. Anyway, we don't see each other for 17 years and then bump into each other –literally- in a the middle of the road. I know you don't believe in coincidences Paige and I don't think that this is any exception."

_More than you know_. Thought Paige throwing and glance towards the café.

Henry followed her gaze, "Come on, at least let me buy you a coffee and you can tell me where you've been for all this time."

Paige couldn't see a way out. "Alright but, I've got… got a friend waiting for me in that café, you don't mind her joining us do you." Paige knew this was dangerous territory but it was a risk she felt like taking. Henry represented a time in her life when she felt completely happy. They had been best friends, and more, before her parent's death and now that her life was on the up, she felt confident enough to give into the temptation he held in those fantastic eyes.

Henry shrugged. _Better than loosing her again_ he thought and followed Paige across the street to where his daughter sat waiting for her Mom.

**OK so I played about with the chronology of events/characters but I just think Paige and Henry are such a good couple! ****Hope you like it ,please review. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews by the way, especially 'missypaige06'- you've given me an awesome idea that I'm gonna develop in a few chapters time. But that's not a spoiler because the unexpected is always going to happen.!**

Phillipa been waiting in the café for what she felt was a lifetime before she heard Paige's voice. Looking up from her cup of coffee she saw her mother waving, then noticed Henry following her. Sighing, she lifted the shopping bags off the extra seat to make room for this apparent friend of Paige's, a little pissed off that her day with Paige was being interrupted, but, still- she liked meeting her mother's friends, it made her feel like she really was part of Paige's life.

"Hi" she said.

"Phillipa. This… this is … Henry." Phillipa thought Paige's voice quavered slightly oddly.

"Hey" said Henry.

"And Henry, this is Phillipa, my er.. my _friend_." Phillipa's head shot up at this. Her mother had always introduced her as her daughter. What the hell was Paige playing at? Ok, so she never called her 'Mom' out loud but she just hadn't plucked up the courage. Paige had… why change now?! Paige glanced at Phillipa, sensing her hurt. "RIGHT!" her tone was overly enthusiastic and cheerful. "Who's for coffee? Henry? OK!"

The next half hour was an awkward one. Phillipa was still slightly hurt by Paige's comment and so was irritated even more by the sudden change that had overcome her mother. Paige was tense- she knew she was playing with fire – a full blown forest blaze to be exact- but just seeing Henry after all these years had brought back feelings she'd forgotten she even had. And Henry was just plain uncomfortable. He wanted some time with Paige and he knew that she knew that. Only is was clear that Paige wasn't letting anybody move, and kept up a lively but unnatural conversation, in which she spoke non stop and seemed to be forgetting to breath. So Henry and Phillipa stirred their drinks awkwardly, occasionally throwing mundane questions at each other and 'umming' responses back, whilst Paige rambled on incessantly, cringing inside because she knew how stupid she must look.

Eventually Henry stood up. "I'd best be going- it was great to see you Paige and nice meeting you" he nodded at Phillipa.

"WAIT!.. I'll walk you to …. To…"

"a cab" Henry came to her rescue.

"Yes! OK a cab- right I'll wait with you outside" Paige slammed a twenty on the table and grinned awkwardly at Phillipa, then ushered Henry outside before either could object.

Once on the street, Paige seemed to have calmed down. "So… this was _nice,_" Henry started.

"Yeah."

"How long have you known Phillipa?"

"Well… we're kind of... long lost friends. Why?"

"Long lost? She doesn't look older than, what is she… 18?

"17."

"Oh"

"What?"

"Well its just… you're 34 Paige, why are you hanging out with a 17 year old??"

"She's-a-pretty-cool-girl-why-not-any-how?" She gabbled her words, panicking slightly. She hated lying to Henry. He was the only person who she had always been totally honest with. But then again, hadn't she spent the past 17 years lying to him? Why stop now? "Look, this was really nice-"

"-I want to see you again."

Paige hesitated.

"Me too." She couldn't help it. Deep down, she knew that she'd never really stopped loving Henry. In New York, she longed for him, imagined how different things would be if he were there. When Phillipa showed up, everybody else saw Paige in her, but Paige saw Henry staring back at her through those fantastic eyes. And in all the time in between, walking down the street, looking out of a window, going into a shop, she was sure she'd seen the back of his head or heard his voice in a crowd. She tried to suppress it but it would never really go away.

"Why did you leave?"

"I…"

"I looked for you Paige. I really tried. Where were you?"

She took a breath. "New York."

"New York!? What were you doing in New York?"

"MOM! COME ON!" Phillipa clasped her hand to her mouth. _Great time to say that for the first time she thought. Paige clearly didn't want Henry to know who she was._

"Did she say mom? Jeez Paige what happened? Paige?"

_She called me mom. She called me mom._

"PAIGE? What the hell – is she…? What happened Paige?"

"I had a baby." Her voice was tiny. Distant. She wasn't looking at Henry.

"What?! O My God PAIGE!"

"I had a baby." She repeated to herself.

"When? …Jeez I can work out when. She's 17. 17 years ago… I haven't seen you in 17 years…." Henry's voice trailed off. "Paige…? Is she… is she my daughter?"

"Ours." It was out.

Henry turned his head towards Phillipa who was standing anxiously on the other side of the street. _His daughter. His DAUGHTER. He was a Dad? He'd been a dad for 17 years and he'd never known. _

"Please don't hate me." Paige put her hand on Henry's arm.

"She's really my…"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He didn't take his eyes of Phillipa the whole time he spoke.

"I… I was lost. I'm sorry. I didn't… no one knew."

"How could…?

"I gave her up."

"You what?"

"When she was born"

"Paige- why?"

"You know why."

"If you'd told me …Does she know…?""

"Who you are? No. and please don't tell her. Not yet."

"Did she ask about me?"

"Yes"

"What did you say?"

"I said it was complicated."

"Complicated?"

"Well it is."

"I loved you Paige. You broke my heart."

"We can't do this here."

"No. lets go somewhere."

"No. Come by tomorrow, 1329 Prescott Street. I need to sort my head out. You need to as well."

"But-" Paige was already across the street, hurrying Phillipa in to an 'orb-out friendly' alley way.

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Back at the manor, Piper, Phoebe and Leo were had just started on dinner when Paige and Phillipa orbed in.

"Ha! Glad to see you missed the oven this time," smiled Piper

"Yeah- I guess I'm finally getting the hang of this orbing thing" replied Phillipa.

"Well your powers must be advancing- great," added Phoebe.

"Yeah GREAT! Hey- Phillipa- why don't you go put all these clothes away or something."

"Yeah sure- but lose the tone of voice- I'm not 10- I know you want me out of the way so you can talk about…_Henry…!"_ she winked at Paige and ran upstairs.

"Henry?" questioned Piper, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Paige sat down.

"Ooh that's not a happy yeah" added Phoebe.

"No its not."

"So whose Henry?"

"My ex, well sort of ex, boyfriend."

"And… you ran into him today right."

"Literally"

"Oooh was it awkward?"

"Well kind of- I've not seen him in 17 years."

"Oh my God! Paige? Is he... ?" Phoebe gasped

"Phillipa's father. Yeah."

"Phillipa's father!?" Piper's frowned. "Does he know? Does SHE know?"

"Yes, yes and no. He found out today."

"You told him? You've not seen him in 17 years and you came straight out and told him you had his baby!"

"I didn't mean to. She called me Mom."

"She called you Mom? Oh Paige she's never…"

"Yeah. Impeccable timing right. But it caught me off guard- I told Henry she was a friend and so he started asking questions, and I was confused and …."

"Shit."

"Helpful Leo, you always have had a way with words," teased Paige. "So he found out. He's coming over tomorrow to _talk. _Only Phillipa cant find our till we've sorted things out. Aaaah! This is just so messed up!"

"It was inevitable Paige."

"Was it?"

"But how do you feel about all this?"

"Messed up. Everything's just moving so fast. It's crazy. I was so happy when Phillipa showed up and so happy that she accepted me- I was so sure she'd hate me. But I just did what I'm best at- not looking at the future. But … but the real problem is … I never got over Henry. I knew walking out was a mistake- a selfish and stupid mistake. My life one big long line of selfish and stupid mistakes."

"No…!"

"It has. But I still love Henry and seeing him just made me realise that more. But its just so complicated!"

"You're telling me!"

"Helpful Piper"

"Well do you want me to lie?"

"No"

"Well the truth is Paige, is that it is complicated, and the solution isn't going to be easy. But you need to talk to Henry about _Phillipa_- nothing else. Let's get our heads around that before we do anything rash and silly."

"Its not rash."

"It's not sensible. Don't go down that road- you don't know how he feels about you. Do you want to scare him off and ruin Phillipa's relationship with her father before it's even begun?"

"I still can't believe that my daughter is upstairs. I honestly never thought I'd see her again."

"I know honey" Phoebe's sympathetic hand rested on Paige's.

"I'm worried about her Phoebe."

"She's tough- she's a great kid. I think she's dealing with it all pretty well."

"But still, I keep going back to that morning when she orbed in. She looked awful- I mean she was covered in bruises but she looked so pale and wan. She hasn't mentioned anything really about her past."

"But look how much she's changed. She's lively, rosy cheeked and smiling all the time. It's amazing what a month of Piper's cooking can do for a person."

"If there's something up then she'll talk when she's ready" put in Piper. "But for now I think you both should get some sleep. Tomorrow's not going to be an easy day."

"But for once I'll have seen it coming."


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the wait everybody. Here's a little fix to keep you going. Hopefully updates will be more frequent from now on.**

**PS I have actually got round to making a profile ( if anybody is interested- I doubt you are I just thought I'd mention it coz I'm proud of myself for making the effort.) **

Dappled golden sunlight shone through the window and landed in shimmering pool on the cheek of a sleeping Paige Matthews. Opening her eyes and groaning slightly, she turned her head to gaze out at the trees that sheltered the Halliwell's home from the other Victorian manor houses in the street. In that short, blissful moment, Paige thought that today might be an enjoyable one. Then she remembered Henry.

"SHIT" she said out loud, rolling onto her front and burying her face in her pillow.

"Knock Knock. Rise and Shine!"

"Grrrrr" came a muffled grunt from Paige's pillow. Piper entered carrying a breakfast tray complete with a rose in a tiny glass vase.

"Come on." Piper set the tray down on the dresser and moved to sit on the bed. "There's no hiding from this one Paige- you might as well do it with a good breakfast inside you. Eggs sunny side up and fresh orange juice- no pulp."

"Grrrr"

"I got _coffee_…."

"Gimme!" Paige hauled herself into a sitting position. " I guess you just know me too well," she laughed.

"Hey, what are sister's for?"

"I don't know what I'd have done without you these past few months – you and Phoebe have just been amazing."

"Like I said…"

"I feel like I've completely neglected you."

"NO!"

"But these past few months seem to have revolved around me – I realised I have like, no idea what's going on in your life right now."

"Well can I blame you. I mean you're Soap Opera of a life kind of outweighs my battle to get Leo to do the laundry."

"HA! Good luck with that!" They both laughed. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"Just for being there."

"Don't be silly!"

"Hey guys what's going on?!" Phoebe bounded into the room and leapt onto the bed. "How are you feeling sweetie?" she added.

"Aaaah. I can't believe how complicated this all is!"

"Well let's be honest sweetie- it wasn't exactly going to be a walk in the park was it."

"I guess, I just – I got to comfortable with how things were with Phillipa, it's been weirdly easy up to now. I guess something had to make it all more… more … more like my _soap opera_ style life again!"

"What are you gonna say to Henry?" Phoebe asked.

"I have no idea. How am I even going to begin to explain? To make up for what I've done?"

"Make up for?" Piper didn't understand what Paige meant.

"Yeah- I abandoned him and went to New York whilst pregnant with his baby, that I didn't tell him about, and then gave the baby away in, lets face it, a pretty messed up and stupid way, then bump into him 17 years later and drop some huge bomb shell on him and expect him to deal with it. I am so SELFISH!"

"No honey, you're not. You've just had A LOT to deal with."

"Well I'm gonna start to clean up this mess properly today."

"Yes you are. And remember we're hear for you if you need us. Only we wont be around because we're taking Phillipa out for some aunt/niece bonding so you can have a proper talk."

"Thankyou."

"No Probs- right missy- UP- Face the music! Go Get 'em! And don't forget to dress like a rock star and Knock Him Dead!"

"I'm not trying to win him back Phoebe!"

"Can't hurt to look gorgeous can it?"

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"So where are we going?" Phillipa raced out of the front door and headed down the steps of the Manor. Not looking where she was going she collided straight with Henry who was gingerly making his way up. "Oh sorry- gosh I'm soo clumsy!"

"Er no. n..n..o it's fine. You're fine" Henry gazed at Phillipa, unable to think of anything to say, overwhelmed by the realisation that he was staring at his daughter.

"what?"

"Er…er.. nothing… sorry. Erm…"

"Ok! Well we're just off out so I guess I might see you when I get back. Be nice to my mom! You two would make a great couple!" She winked at Henry and carried on towards the street.

"PHILLIPA!" Piper chased after her. Nodding an apologetic Hi! at Henry.

"What?!"

"Calm down!"

"Why? What's wrong with trying to inject a bit of romance into Mom's life? Come on- you agree with me- they would make a great couple!"

"They were a couple."

"NO WAY! See I am so good at this whole cupid thing? When were they together? How long did it last? I want all the details!"

Piper sighed ,"Well we'll walk and talk missy." Paige had asked Piper and Phoebe to talk to Phillipa and explain who Henry was. Piper wasn't overly keen on the idea but she could see where Paige was coming from. The plan was to let Phillipa sort her head out away from Paige and Henry so that by the time she got back to the manor they'd all be in a better frame of mind to have a proper conversation. "Lets go."


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews from last time: missypaige06, littlemissbad, WHYBENORMAL93, future author at work and TVCrazed- thankyou. **

"Hi."

"Hi" Paige stood on the doorstep, biting her lip and staring awkwardly at Henry. Henry stared awkwardly back. The silence was excruciating.

Finally, Henry spoke. "What happened Paige?" Paige stood aside and let Henry into the manor. "I looked for you – I did." He continued, sitting down in the living room. "I thought you'd… Bloody Hell Paige. What were you thinking?" He suddenly sounded angry, he wasn't shouting but his voice was stronger. "Didn't you think I'd want to know! I had a right to know. What exactly did you think I'd have done? Walked out? – been angry?" she didn't reply. "I'd have been over the moon Paige. I loved you…I _love_ you."

"How can you say that Henry- you don't know me."

"I do. You're still the same person you were 17 years ago. I can see it. Things have happened in your life and they've changed you- but you're still the same Paige, deep down. I can see it."

"You spoke to me for half an hour – how the hell would you know?"

"Because I know you Paige- everything about you. The only thing I don't know is why – why on earth you felt you couldn't tell me I had a daughter!"

"I …I don't know."

"You don't know! What kind of an answer is that? Come on Paige – you must know. You can tell yourself that you were confused and scared and you were a bad place and so you acted on your temperamental instinct but- WE SHARED EVERYTHING PAIGE. Why not this? Are actually trying to tell me that how things turned out is better than what it would have been if you'd told me. That you going through all that by yourself and then giving the baby away is so much better than what we could have given her if you'd just have thought to _tell _me. We could have been a family Paige."

"But I screwed up- like I screwed up everything else. I'm sorry Henry. "

There was silence.

"No Paige- you didn't screw up. And I'm sorry. I… I can't even begin to imagine how horrible it must have been… and right after everything else. But I thought 'we' were above everything else- two against the world. We shared everything- I knew you inside out and you knew me- that's how it always was. We got each other through the tough times- we never hid anything. Shame and secrets weren't part of it Paige. Why did you have to change that? And why didn't you feel you could share this with me? It wasn't just your secret Paige. She was my baby as much as she was yours."

"You're right Henry. I see that now. I saw that the moment I got to New York. But once I was there- and I was only there because I panicked, stupid as it sounds- I couldn't pluck up the courage to go back. Because I'm a weak person Henry and that's the only reason I have."

"You're not weak Paige- you can't go through all that and call yourself weak. But I just wished you'd have trusted me. I don't want you to be sorry- I don't need you to be sorry. I just need to make sense of this crazy bombshell. I'm a DAD for fucks sake! A DAD!" He began to laugh. "I have a daughter! WE have a daughter…." As the past two days began to sink in, a huge grin crept onto Henry's face. "My daughter! Our daughter."

"She's beautiful isn't she."

"The most beautiful girl in all world!" He stopped. His breath hung in his chest. He looked at Paige. Then said, in a barely audible voice – "just like her mom." Neither of them spoke, just sat, staring at each other, hardly daring to breath. The room seemed to be spinning, hurtling them back to 17 years ago. Henry leaned in towards Paige and Paige leaned in towards Henry, a magnetic field pulling them together. "I love you Paige, I never stopped looking for you. And I couldn't think of anybody in the world who I would rather share a child with."

He kissed her.

"I love you too Henry but 17 years is along time. You can't just expect to pick up where we left off- after everything I did to you"

"I don't care. I love you."

Paige couldn't fight anymore. Her doubts were weak in her mind now. She fell into Henry's arms, falling back into 1989.

**Please review and tell what you think. Is this what you want to happen? Any objections? I'm open to criticism…. **


	9. Chapter 9

"So." said Phillipa, linking her arm through Piper's, "tell me all about Mom and Henry!"

"Why on earth are you so interested? Most teenage daughters would vomit at the idea of talking about their mom's old flames!"

"Yeah well I thought you'd have figured out by now that I'm not your average teenager!"

"WOAH! Don't get too cocky missy," Piper laughed. "What's got into you today- you're normally so… sensible."

"Yeah well I guess I'm finally letting myself be a kid. I've missed out on that the past 17 years." Piper put her arm around Phillipa and smiled. Her niece had shared with her and Phoebe the story of her childhood- passed from home to home, everyone getting fed up with her because she kept running away: _I couldn't help it- I just felt like there was something, somewhere pulling me away, and I felt like a freak because of all the random magic tricks I kept performing, so I got very good at isolating myself and not making an effort with any foster parents. I used to wander off and I just got good a fending for myself! _

"Well you can be as childish as you like now hon. We love you and don't even _think_ about running away- you're here with us and this is you're home. But listen to me now Phillipa- there's something you're Aunt Phoebe and I need to talk to you about, you're mom asked us to do it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Paige rested her head on Henry's bare chest and turned her smiling face up to meet his.

"Hey you" he kissed her on the forehead.

"That was amazing"

"Now do you believe that I love you" Henry teased, giving her a flirtatious wink.

Paige laughed and elbowed him in the ribs "What kind of girl do you think I am Henry Mitchell!" He began to tickle her and she squirmed and giggled, then she deflated and flopped down onto her pillow. "Are we being totally selfish?"

"How do you mean baby?" Henry said, propping himself up on to his elbow so that he leaned over Paige. He picked up a strand of her dark hair and twirled it between his fingers.

"I just mean… well Phillipa doesn't even know who you are yet and we've just made things like, a hundred times more complicated. I left it to her aunts to tell her who you are which is something I should do… WE should do. She's going to be angry, she's going to have a ton of questions and us being 'together' is just one more thing for her to have to deal with and it might just be one thing too many."

"Well maybe we start with who I am and go from there. We can keep us quiet for a bit. That's probably the best thing to do. I mean- let's be honest Paige- if are gonna give this another go then I think we're going to need some time and there's no point in stirring up too much at once now is there."

"She's been through so much and I just want her to be happy and feel loved, and I want her to feel safe."

"Of course you do. So do I. We're her parents Paige."

"Are we though? I mean you've only known she even exists for a day and I abandoned her at birth. We've missed out on 17 years of her life and just expect to pick up where we left off and play happy families. She's practically an adult now and she's so _grown up_ anyway. Do we really have any right to call ourselves her parents?"

Henry sighed. It was just one big chain of unanswerable questions. No easy options and no guide book to turn to for help. "All we can do is try to build a relationship with our daughter. And it seems to me that you're doing a pretty good job so far."

"It's shakey but…"

"But what honey?"

"She called me Mom for the first time yesterday and you have no I idea how that felt. It was the most amazing thing… I just hope you get to hear her say dad one day."

"So do I. Gosh! I can't believe how this time yesterday, my life was so different." He let out a laugh. "But you know what Paige- I have a really GOOD feeling about all this."

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"He's my WHAT?"

"Your dad honey" said Phoebe, placing her hand on Phillipa's arm. They were sat on a bench in Golden Gate Park, Phillipa in the middle with an aunt either side.

Phillipa sat in stunned silence, letting this latest information regarding her genetics sink in.

"You ok babe?" Piper reached out and tucked a strand of Phillipa's dark hair safely behind her ear.

"Yeah… yeah" she said vaguely. "it's just a lot to take in" then, after another silence whilst images of Henry, the few she had, ran through her mind like a Charlie Chaplin silent movie, "Why couldn't they tell me themselves?"

"I guess your mom thought…" Piper began but she was cut short by her niece who leapt to her feet and shouted

"SHE HAD SO MANY OPPORTUNITES! LIKE YESTERDAY, OR THIS MORNING OR…. Why couldn't she tell me herself, why couldn't she tell me before? I asked her so many times and she could have at least told me his name. She said it was 'complicated' but you should have seen them yesterday! Complicated- yeah right. I mean didn't she think I had a right to know that the guy I was chatting so casually to was my DAD?!" Tears began to stream down Phillipa's face. Phoebe stood up and engulfed her in a warm, tight hug as sobs erupted from her nieces delicate body.

"Ssssh…ssssh. It's okay. Cry- yes let it all out. You know I don't think we've ever seen you cry before. All this stuff you've had to deal with and I don't think you've even shed a tear."

"I doubt you get that from the Halliwell side- we were all born with our bladders far too close to our eyes," Piper added, stroking her niece's back. "You know it's ok to cry, we don't have to be strong all the time."

"I … I…" Phillipa buried her head into Phoebe's warm chest, comforted by the smell of her perfume and the feeling of arms tight around her. She felt more safe in her aunt's embrace than she had ever done in her life. It was a tremendous relief to finally let go, everything she'd bottled up in her life came pouring out and by the time she finally stopped, she felt like a new person, everything was clearer and she felt ready to start again.

"See- best medicine" laughed Phoebe, wiping a straggling tear off Phillipa's cheek. But Jeez, I could launch a yacht on this. She gestured to the enormous dark patch on the breast of her jacket. Phillipa smiled.

"I guess you're right. I feel… so much better."

"Good. Now listen to me honey." Her aunt sat her back down and continued to stroke the back of her head. " I know you might not like the way your mom decided to handle this but you have to know that she did what she did because she honestly thought it was the best thing to do…

"I know that might not seem too convincing – I mean we all know that Paige's idea of 'the best thing' is not necessarily the most commonly held opinion, but all she wants is the best. For you. The past 17 years she thought that she was doing the right thing," cut in Piper. "believe me, if she'd thought for one minute that you'd have been better off with her then she would have orbed all over creation to bring you home. Everything she has done is what she thought was right, obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing that she just didn't have the luxury of, but she did the best she could."

"Yeah I know."

"But that doesn't mean to say that you can't be mad." Added Phoebe. "You've been dealt a pretty hard deck and no one expects you to smile your way through it. Get mad, scream, cry, it's ok. We're here for you and no one will think any less of you for doing so. We're your family. We love you. And you're mom- well she loves you _so_ much- remember, you might feel like you've only known her for a month or so but she feels like she's known you your entire life."

"You really have that empath power down pat Aunt Phoebe." She took a deep breath. "You know what, I think I'm ready to meet my dad… well properly I mean."


	10. Chapter 10

"All set?"

"Ready to go!" said Phillipa, racing down the manor staircase. Paige's face broke into a huge grin as she did so. "What?"

"Oh it's nothing, you just remind me so much of Phoebe when you do that." Phillipa smiled back. She loved being compared to members of her family, it made her feel like she really did belong with the Halliwells. And now that she had really mastered her powers (admittedly it had been a long slog with Leo tutoring her and many a broken window) she felt more at home in San Francisco than ever. "So are you excited? Have you got everything? Remember if it all gets too much- call me- I'm just an orb away."

"Mom! I'll be fine! It's only school- one day- I think I can handle it! And anyway- I thought I was only meant to orb when totally necessary." Phillipa raised her eyebrows, pretending to be irritated but secretly, she loved her mother fussing over her.

"Hey- how are my two favourite girls?" Henry appeared from the kitchen. He slid his hand around Paige's waist and handed her a mug of coffee. "Are we all set for the big day?"

"Yeah- Dad! I can't wait." Slinging her backpack on her shoulder, Phillipa kissed each of her parents on the cheek and sped out of the front door to where her Aunt Phoebe was waiting to give her a ride. She paused on the step, turning around to wave at her parents who stood arm in arm, beaming back at her.

"Aren't we just the luckiest people in the world." Henry smiled down at Paige. "Look at her- she's so … happy. I think that these past few months have been worth it because look at what we have."

He was right, Paige thought, it did seem perfect. But the past few months hadn't been easy at all- once the initial shock of the reunion had died down, everyone found it hard to adjust to the new situation. Phillipa had found the whole thing particularly hard to swallow and questions began to surface in her mind- she realised she needed explanations and Paige had struggled to give them. There were a few bitter weeks where blame and anger had been prominent- Phillipa suddenly realising everything she had missed out on over the past 17 years, not having a mom or dad, and this made her angry, resentful of Paige for abandoning her. Then of course there was the getting her head around the idea of her Mom and Dad being a couple again- she found it hard to understand why they couldn't have tried harder the first time around and it made her angry that everybody was so intent on playing happy families.

It was Phoebe who got them through- her words: _Everything she has done is what she thought was right. All she wants is_ _the best. For you, _had comforted everybody. Phillipa could understand her mother's choices, Paige could work through the overwhelming guilt she felt and Henry could find his place in all of this (he couldn't help but feel like a spare part sometimes) and begin to build a relationship with his daughter. And, if anyone was having a rough day, Phoebe and Piper were on hand to give them a hug. But now it seemed that they were all back on track- Phillipa starting school was marker of this- they had put back the day a few months from when they originally planned so that everyone could get settled. But now everything was running smoothly, it seemed the sensible thing to do.

"Thank god for my wonderful sisters," Paige said aloud as she watched the car glide round the corner and disappear into the dazzling early morning sky.

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_Ok- you can do this. You can. Jeez it only school. Come on girl you can handle New York City by yourself but you can't manage a simple day at High School? _Taking a deep breath to try to release some of the 1000's of knots in her stomach, Phillipa propelled herself up the steps of her new school. _Ok! Algebra- room 316. _She glanced down at the timetable she'd been sent a week before. _Shit _– _math!_ _Great start to the day. Couldn't I get something I was actually good at just to ease me in?_ _Man I must have only been to like 7 math lessons in my entire teen years. AAAh I'm gonna look so stupid- they'll shove me back down to the 6__th__ grade I'm sure of it! _The temptation to run was overwhelming. _If I run I'll be taking 20 steps backward. Hey this isn't so bad- Art and English this afternoon. Yeah- there's where we can show them what we're made of! OK- room 316._

"You look lost. First day huh."

"Yeah. How d'ya guess?"

"Hey- nice accent- New York right! I'm Kate." Phillipa saw hand extend under her nose. Looking up she saw a girl of about her age with thick strawberry blonde hair, tied in two shoulder length plaits, and chocolate brown eyes smiling out from black, square rimmed glasses. Her skin was the same pale tone as Phillipa's but her cheeks had a healthy pink flush. She had on a black t-shirt with the slogan 'come to the darkside… we have cookies" written on it, jeans and hung around her neck, she wore a choker style pendant of green glass set in silver, hanging off a piece of black cord. She winked as Phillipa met her eye. "Care to relieve the mystery surrounding your name? the suspense is killing me."

"Oh—er-- Phillipa." Phillipa smiled. There was something in the friendly sarcasm that made her relax.

"So where are you headed this morning?"

"Algebra - 316"

"Ouch! Well I'm headed up to Bio in 324 so I can point you in the right direction and give you the guided tour on the way."

"Thanks! Wow – I can't believe someone in this place is actually talking to me- I honestly thought I'd be a complete loner for at least this semester."

"Well don't get used too it- not everyone is as nice as me." She winked again. "Come on I'll lead you to your doom." And with that she charged down the corridor, skilfully snaking between the crowds gathering around lockers and drinking fountains, and dragging Phillipa along behind her.


	11. Chapter 11

**I just want to apologise in advance for my appalling attempt at a Haiku- poetry is **_**not**_** my forte. **

_Okay… three measures of carrot seed and three dried beetle eyes, simmer in warm water for three minutes and then add a sprinkle of unicorn horn shavings. Simple enough for such a complex request, not sure if it'll work though , non- offensive potions like this usually have a thickening agent…odd..? T_hought Paige as she traced her finger over her Grams' handwriting in the ancient Book of Shadows. _Mind you… if I add a regular duck egg then that would… yes… good thinking Paige! Ok so that would mean it would have to be used instantly or else the egg will poach itself. _She laughed. _So I'll have prepare the spell first ok… erm… iambic pentameter is no good- it needs a lighter beat or it won't be a vision quest, it'll be full scale time travel… limerick? _She laughed again. _That's just stupid- how about a haiku- they're easy. _She picked up a pen and began to scribble phrases on a scrap of paper.

_Destiny's shadow_

_Falls on sun drenched happiness._

_Show me tomorrow._

_Not my best, but the sun reference should help with the focus and make sure I'm in control. Right- potion. _Paige threw in the carrot seeds and beetle eyes. BANG! _Woah… since when…? _Purple sparks shot out of the pot like fireworks. _Water! Add the Water! Okay- stir gently… that's better. _The potion returned to the watery, moss colour Paige was expecting. She added the remaining ingredients and stirred until the liquid changed to a thick swirling silver. _Okay, here goes…. _The mixture slid down her throat and she felt it swill around her empty stomach as she recited her spell. Her eyelids became heavy and her head lolled against her shoulder, her legs were like jelly and she staggered over to the little couch in the attic. She felt the weight of her body slip away into its soft cushions and her brain began buzz inside her skull, gradually her whole head lightened and she had the strange sensation of floating outside of her own body as she slipped further and further into her dreamlike state.

_She was back in her apartment in New York. It seemed exactly as she remembered- stripped wooden floors, bare and exposed partially covered by a moth eaten but strangely appealing rug that she had rescued from a flea market for 7 (it's original colour was uncertain- Paige had assumed that it had once been a rich shade of green but now it was more sludge coloured;) white walls; a sagging, slightly battered couch, a similar shade as the rug at one end of the room and a small kitchenette at the other and one of her own paintings (a woman in a vivid blue dress clutching a bunch of dying roses) hung on the wall. Her eyes scanned the room and came back to rest on the rug. 'I always liked that rug – can't imagine why' she thought to herself as she gazed around the place that had once been home. She shivered, there was a chilled atmosphere that hadn't been there 17 years ago. Looking closer she noticed peeling paint and damp patches on the walls; missing draw handles and a cupboard door hanging off it's hinges; grime and cobwebs on the window and a crack in the glass. There was a scuttling, scratching noise at her feet and she squealed with shock and disgust as a rat ran over her foot and disappeared into a hole in the skirting boards. Her painting was faded, the light bulb had smashed and everything was covered in a layer of grey dust. The air smelt musty and wandering over to the window, she noticed how dim the light was- barely creeping in through the small, grubby pane of glass, blocked by the obtrusive buildings surrounding her own. _

_She shivered again and then a sound caught her ears. It was coming from the bathroom, quiet hiccupping sobs, slow and infrequent but unmistakeable. An overwhelming curiosity drew her to the door and she reached out and slowly turned the handle. The door swung open. Paige gasped. _

_Standing in the centre of the room was a figure, thin and frail looking, with a wan, pale face. Dull brown eyes stared out at her and lank, greasy brown curls hung around starved looking cheeks. She was looking at herself, not her seventeen year old self but the person she was now, only Paige could barely recognise anything in that worn out, empty stare- the sparkle that she treasured had died completely in the haunting eyes that looked back at her. _

_For a moment, all Paige could do was stare back into those eyes. Until she noticed that the figure was holding a bundle of towels, towels that she recognised from September 14__th__ 1991. But they weren't blood stained, as they had been, they were blood soaked. It dripped from the towels and trickled down the fingers of the Paige that clutched the bundle so tightly that her fingers where white, from her hands, the scarlet blood dripped steadily into a slowly expanding pool on the tiled floor. The bundle itself looked heavy, there was definitely something in it and Paige knew what it was before she did the thing she knew she would regret. Walking towards herself, she reached out and scooped the bundle from her own arms, it was heavy, motionless and cold. She knew what was coming… she didn't want to do it … she had to do it … she closed her eyes… she took a deep breath… she looked down. Paige's stomach lurched, and the taste of vomit burnt the back of her throat but she fought in down. In her arms was a grey, lifeless baby, stiff and cold, it stared at Paige through glassy blue eyes. But … but… _

'_It's a boy.' She whispered. She had been so sure it would be Phillipa. 'Why are you a boy?' _

**Ok so quite a short chapter. Please review.**


	12. Chapter 12

"It's OK Leo- I'll just check it out in the book!" Piper called as she headed up the attic staircase. She took the steps two at a time, balancing a laundry basket on her right hip and Wyatt on her left. Putting both baby and basket down, she reached out and turned the door handle. It jammed. She shook it. "LEO!" – the attic door was _always _unlocked. Piper continued to rattle the old brass handle as Leo appeared next to her at the top of the stairs. "It won't open Leo. What the hells going on- PAIGE- did you lock this door?!"

"I don't think she's in there, I'm sure her and Henry orbed out somewhere this morning."

"Well who could have locked it – Phoebe's at work, Phillipa's at school…O shit you don't think it's a demon."

"No wait- come to mention it, I swear I saw her in her room at lunch time- it must be Paige in there."

"Why the hell has she locked the door? Paige- let us in!" Silence. "PAIGE! Jeez! OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR!" Nothing. "PAIGE!" Piper's voice was urgent now. "Leo- we need to get in there- what if a demon's got her. Leo…?"

"Piper… You're powers…!?"

"Oh! Right!" She blew the door open with a flick of her hands. Wood chips flew in every direction and smoke and dust clouded their vision for a moment. As the smoke cleared Piper's eyes fell on the couch where her baby sister's limp body was sprawled, her hand lolling helplessly over the edge of the seat and her head tipped backwards so that her dark hair cascaded down to the floorboards. Her mouth hung slightly open and her eyes where wide and empty. "Paige!!" Piper raced over to her. "Paige, come on baby- what's wrong? God damn it Paige, what happened? Come on baby girl, wake up… wake up Paige…Paige...wake up…" Piper collapsed into sobs on her sister's chest, believing she was re-living her worst fear, she had lost another sister.

But as her head rested on Paige's breast, she noticed a small rise and fall, weak, barely detectable but Piper was certain that Paige was breathing. "LEO! LEO- she's breathing- heal her!" Leo bent over Paige, his hands spread wide, nothing happened.

"She won't heal Piper."

"What the hell do you mean she won't heal?!"

"I can't?…"

"Why not- she's alive- she's breathing- heal her."

"Piper- I can't."

"But she's been attacked by a demon- you must be able-"

"Piper- look around," Leo had moved away from Paige and towards the table strewn with the remnants of spell casting. His eyes took in the heap used of potion ingredients, the scraps of paper on which Paige has scrawled discarded spells and finally the Book of Shadows, lying off its stand and thrown face down in the middle of the chaotic heap. "This doesn't look like an attack and, besides, she's not wounded… Piper – I think…"

"What are you trying to say Leo? No. No she wouldn't. Why would she, now? I thought- I thought she finally felt like her life was back on track… she wouldn't Leo…"

"I can't heal self inflicted wounds Piper."

"No- we're going to sort this out" Something inside Piper snapped. She stormed over to the table and picked up the book- "we're not going to let this happen! Go get Phoebe. NOW" Leo vanished.

"PAIGE?" Phoebe and Leo had orbed back in. Phoebe rushed to her sister, taking Paige's lifeless hand in her own. As she did so, she let out a gasp as a premonition hit her like an arrow through the heart.

"What?! What did you see"

"Paige. Oh God Piper- it was horrible. Paige was … we were all there and… Piper…" Phoebe chocked on her words, unable to communicate to her sister the traumatic scene she had just witnessed. Piper stared at her sister in horror, recognising the terror in Phoebe's face.

"Come on Phoebe- you have to tell us" Piper just managed to cover the quavering fear in her voice with a smooth soothing tone that urged Phoebe to continue.

"Piper… I think. We were all in a hospital room and Paige was … she was in a hospital bed and she was holding this… this … and she was crying and so was Henry and we all were and we were just looking at this… this…"

"What Phoebe? What were you looking at?"

"Baby." Tears spilled from Phoebe's eyes.

"Baby? What's wrong with that?" Something in Piper's voice told Leo that she already knew.

"It was dead. Paige's baby was dead."

There was silence. Nobody knew what to do. They all felt paralysed with shock at the terrible event that would cast another shadow over the Halliwells.

xxxxxxxxxx

_Paige was still stood, clutching the tiny bundle to her chest, a torrent of blood still streamed from the blankets, she had no idea where it was coming from, she couldn't see a single cut or wound anywhere on the fragile little body. The other Paige was still staring at her through those empty eyes, arms out stretched as if the baby was still in them. "w…w…w…what happened?" Paige managed to stammer, her voice was filled with fear and sympathy all at the same time. She could sense the pain her other self was feeling but at the same time, found it almost impossible to connect herself with the ghostly, traumatised figure standing infront of her._

"_We killed him" the voice that spilled from the pale lips of the other Paige was hollow and expressionless. Her mouth formed every word and the sound sent a chill through Paige's body. _

"_Who- you and … and … there's somebody else here?" Paige knew what the words had meant but she still clutched at a small glimmer of hope that the woman wouldn't say it, that she could somehow change what she was now fully aware was her future. _

"_YOU!!" the shriek rang off the walls. It was the most horrific sound Paige thought she'd ever heard- filled with pain, terror anger. It vibrated through her body, she felt as though her skull was splitting, her eyes clouded over and for a moment she was possessed by paralytic pain and fear. _

When she regained her sight, she was back in the attic, her other self had vanished and her sister's and brother in law were around her, hugging her and telling her how much they loved her and what the hell had she thought she was doing. She was trembling with shock, her breath was heavy and shallow, panic overwhelmed her. _What have you done Paige? _She thought_. Or more to the point… what are you __going __to __do?_

"Paige – what were you thinking- we thought you'd done something really stupid. What were you trying to do?"

"V…v…vision q…q…quest." Paige managed to stammer.

"PAIGE!! What the hell- what was one of the first things I ever taught you about magic- TIME TRAVEL! PERSONAL GAIN! NEVER NEVER NEVER attempt time travel without damn good back up! And as for personal gain- I hate to think what the consequences of this little episode will…." But Piper's scolding dampened as she fully took in the traumatised state of her baby sister.

"I think I've already suffered the consequences Piper." Paige's body shook uncontrollably as she slowly relived her vision to her family. "And it wasn't meant to do what it did… I used Grams' spell from the book… I didn't think it would do what it did…"

"Well it would if you added a duck egg to it you stupid girl!" A fierce voice swam above their heads.

"Grams?" Phoebe frowned. "We didn't summon you…"

"Well sometimes events here summon me themselves" said Penny Halliwell as she materialised in the attic. "Paige- Go to straight to bed! You've had far too much trauma to deal with anything right now- go rest and you're sisters and I are going to have a chat. Now!" And Paige hobbled out of the attic and down the stairs to her and Henry's room, unable to object to her grandmother's curt order.

"Well girls, I hear you've had quite a shock today."

"Oh Grams." Phoebe sobbed. "It's horrible, it's a horrible mess. We can't let this happen can we Grams? Were not going to let Paige's baby die?"

"HOLD IT!" Piper cut in. "Who say's there even is baby- I mean vision quests are notoriously abstract. And who's to say that the baby Paige told us about was even hers. I mean it could be anybody's- there are like _God knows_ how many babies born every day!"

"Piper- stop avoiding the issue- you know as well as I do that Paige's 'vision' was a little more literal that we would have liked. And besides- my premonition- they're never abstract."

"But it doesn't add up does it?" added Leo. "I mean Paige says she was in her old apartment and Phoebe saw her in a hospital and that 'other Paige' that she told us about- that has to mean something."

"Leo- she added a duck egg to the potion, you know as well as I do what that can do to a vision quest potion!"

"Oh crap!" was Leo's only response.

"Well for future reference Grams," snorted Piper, "please elaborate!"

"A vision quest is meant to be an abstract glimpse into future experiences in order to gain wisdom or to help heal unnecessary wounds in our present. They are only supposed to occur when prompted (directly or indirectly) from the elders via the angel of destiny. So Phoebe- yours was under complete supervision and Leo so was yours- that's why Chris was there… only we all saw what happened when the Avatars hijacked it. So as you can tell- it's a delicate operation. That is why the potion is simple and of such a thin consistency- in order for it to be managed easily. Paige thickened the potion and attempted the whole thing unsupervised and without a 'permit' so to speak. She was playing a dangerous game because, a thick consistency means that the seeker becomes unable to separate illusion from reality and the potion also, cannot distinguish between past and future clearly. Therefore, when Paige entered her vision it was a combination of past and future and as well as this, the horror that she experienced became magnified. So yes, there were links between her true future, _as it stands,_ and the insecurities and distress from her past, that she has not been able to banish from her mind as of yet. Remember, a vision quest is much more personal than a premonition."

"But" added Leo, "Paige really did experience what she saw on her quest because of what she did to the potion. This is the sort of terror that is beyond Barbus' wildest dreams."

"But is Paige gonna loose her baby?" Phoebe's voice was still filled with concern.

"I was still hoping that that was part of the abstract element but that seems to have gone down the drain." Piper voice matched Phoebe's in the panic stakes.

"She can't!" continued Phoebe. "I won't let her go through more pain- she doesn't deserve it."

"Well all I know is that you get premonitions for a reason," stated Grams

"But not always the reason you want it to be."

Again, nobody could find words to fill the heavy silence. Thoughts ran through each of their heads as they played out possible and impossible ways to help Paige.

"The problem is," Piper eventually said, "this isn't a demonic problem, or even a magical one really. We're on our own here."

"But at least we found out now- we've got plenty of time on our side. I mean, for all we know, Paige might not even be pregnant yet."

"Well we'll have to find out as soon as she wakes up. O God Phoebe- do you think she's worked all this out- do you think she realises what this all means?"

"I hope to high heaven that she hasn't." said Phoebe

"Ha! Fat lot of good that kind of wishing will do you!"

"Grams! Now is not the time!" scolded Piper

"What about Henry?" asked Leo, "and Phillipa? Should we tell them?"

"O Crap! Phillipa!" Phoebe clapped her hand to her forehead. "I promised that her mom would pick her up- I'll go get her- I'm already 30mins late!" And she sped out of the door- waving a hand in acknowledgement of Pipers _don't bring her home- give us a few hours to talk to Paige and Henry!_


	13. Chapter 13

Phillipa had sat and waited on the wall for half and hour, gone to get a soda, come back, drank the soda, waited some more and was just about give up waiting and skulk off to make her own solitary way home, feeling thoroughly dejected when she was stopped by a voice behind her. "Hey there loner…" she turned around to see Kate standing behind her. "What are you still doing here- I thought you'd have made your getaway a good 50 minutes ago- I would've." She laughed. "Besides, it doesn't hold well for your reputation to be seen moping about outside school waaay after the teachers even have left" there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice that told Phillipa that Kate was probably one of the people _least_ concerned about reputation. She smiled; this was definately somebody she could get on with. Kate continued, "What exactly are you doing here?"

"Waiting for my Aunt Phoebe – said she'd give me a ride."

"Stood you up? How very un-aunty like of her!" Phillipa shrugged, something in her face must have given away her hurt at being forgotten: "hey chin up- you're a big girl, you can take care of yourself!" That made Phillipa smile again, she'd got so used to being part of a family and having them all fuss over her that she'd practically forgotten the Miss Independent she was when she first arrived in San Francisco. "Look I'd offer you a ride hon. But I'm not sure you'd get on with my mode of transport. You ok to get back?"

"Yeah- I'll be fine." She reluctantly rattled the change in her pocket, remembering her mom's _no orbing unless totally necessary_ policy. Maaaaybeee this one was a necessity …. But just as she began wrestling with her conscience, screeching brakes and a painfully loud car horn behind her announced the arrival of her flustered looking aunt.

"I'm so sorry Phillipa!"

"It's fine…" it wasn't, but she didn't want a fight. Besides, she could tell by her aunt's face that she had a good reason for being late. Then, turning to Kate: "well I guess this is me… you ok for getting home?"

"Oh I'll be fine…"

"This is my Aunt Phoebe by the way, Aunt Phoebe, this is Kate."

"Hi- nice to meet you."

"Likewise…" there was a strange tone in Kate's voice and a sly grin on her face that Phillipa didn't quite understand. Phoebe didn't notice, just smiled politely and waved as the car pulled out of the school gates… if either of them had glanced backward or in the wing mirror, they might just have caught sight of the swirling blue and white lights shining from behind the wall.

XXXXXXXX

"Are you ok? You seem pretty stressed?"

"Me? No. No it's fine. I'm fine." Phillipa raised her eyebrow but didn't press the issue any further, knowing that if it was something her aunt wanted her to know- she'd tell her.

"I'm sorry about being late."

"It'sssokay. Don't worry about it."

"Well how can I make it up to you? How does pizza sound?"

"Sounds good!" Phoebe reached over and squeezed Phillipa's hand, oddly tightly, Phillipa thought.

"You know, we're _so_ happy to have you here with us, me, Piper, Leo, Little Wyatt and Chris, even Grams and Mom, I mean, _your_ Grams- man this is confusing, and of course you mom and dad- they love you sooo much, you just have to look at their faces whenever you're around to see that. We're so glad to have you home where you belong."

"What's with the sudden soppiness?" Phillipa teased but soaked up every word, she could never hear enough times how much her family loved her- she'd missed out on 17 years of it, there was plenty of room. "You sure you're ok?"

"I just want to spoil my favourite niece… have you got a problem with that?" Phoebe teased back half heartedly.

"Well as long as it includes an ice cream sundae then I'm not complaining" Phillipa grinned and poked her aunt in the ribs.

"OW!"

"Well stop gushing and start driving, I'm starving!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Back at the manor, Piper was flipping frantically through the Book of Shadows, watched helplessly by Leo and Grams. "Piper- honey. Please, we've already been through it with a fine tooth comb and there's nothing in there that can help."

"No! Leo. There has to be- magic got us into this, it's going to get us out!"

"Piper- you said yourself that this wasn't a demonic problem- we're on our own. All we can do is pray that we've been given enough time to let the doctors keep a close watch on Paige and the baby."

"Oh yeah- and what are we gonna tell them Leo? Please be super careful with our sister because a vision quest and a premonition told us that her baby is going to die!? Somehow I think that's not gonna work! And besides, how can we keep a watch on a baby we don't even know exists yet? Paige might not even be pregnant."

"Well, I think that's something we need to clear up don't you?" Cut in Grams.

"I think there's some pregnancy tests still left on the top shelf of the bathroom cabinet. Will you take one to her Grams?"

"Don't you want to do it my darling?"

Piper hesitated but put down the book and headed for the stairs. She found the box of tests, there were three left, she took one out and knocked on Paige's bedroom door.

"Paige...?" No reply. Piper pushed open the door and walked in. She quietly sat down on the edge of Paige's bed and placed her hand on the trembling mass of duvet that hid her sister's body. "How are you feeling baby?" Paige let out a sob. "Sssshhh – it's okay honey- we're going to sort this out, I promise." Piper knew she shouldn't be making promises she couldn't keep. "But listen, before we go any further, I think there's something you need to do." She slid her hand slowly down so that Paige could see the thin packet in her fingers.

"I... don't want to Piper... I'm scared," said Paige, sitting up. Piper stood and planted a firm kiss on her sister's forehead; it was enough to drive Paige out of the room and into the bathroom, knowing she had, as always, her sisters' love and support.

3 minutes later, Piper knocked on the bathroom door. "Paige honey, can I come in...?"

"Mmm." Piper heard the lock click and pushed the door open. Paige was perched on the edge of the bathtub, anxiously tapping her nails on the enamel.

"How long?"

"Another minute?"

"Listen, Paige..."

"Oh I know Piper." She let out a hollow laugh. "You know you really were right when you said 'my soap opera of a life!'"

The remaining minute passed in silence.

"Ok- its time. You want me to..."

"No. no- I can do this." Paige picked up the little white stick, blowing the butterflies out of her stomach as she did so. She glanced down and her eyes met a single blue line. She swallowed. "Guess what." She said dryly. "I'm pregnant."

Just then they heard the front door bang open and Henry's voice in the hallway. "Hiya! Paige...? Phillipa...?"

"Oh shit! Piper- what am I gonna tell him?"

"The truth Paige- this time around, you tell him the truth."

**Hope you enjoyed that. Thanks for the reviews from last time around! Proof that shameless begging is effective I think ;-) ...same again would be nice...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for the lateness of this update! A little encumbrance called A levels has been preventing me from having any sort of life outside the school gates! :-s**

**The song I have used in this chapter is not mine (dream on me...) it is infact by the absolutely awesome Belle and Sebastian and is entitled Piazza, New York Catcher! Here is a link to it on YouTube if you want to listen: /watch?vVw5zn1aNlJI (can't do a hyperlink so just copy and paste into the URL box)**

"Paige? Are you home? Oh Hiya Leo, Mrs Halliwell- I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing you alive and kicking. Have either of you seen Paige?"

"Henry dear I'm not alive. I think she's upstairs, I'll see if I can find her for you" said Penny, throwing a disconcerted look as Leo before making a speedy exit.

"I still struggle to get my head around the fact that she's dead when she keeps dropping in like that." Said Henry, joining Leo at the table.

"Mmmm."

"Anyway, I'm glad I've got you on your own" Henry was now tapping the table nervously "I wanted to ask your advice on something... it's eerr... well its quite a big deal, I wanted to..."

"Hey you..." Henry was interrupted by Paige who appeared in the doorway, leaning casually on the door frame.

"Hey..." Henry's face lit up when he saw her standing there.

"What? Stop looking at me like that!" Paige smiled. For one short moment, she forgot everything that had happened. But she was brought sharply back to earth by a muttering from Leo as he shuffled awkwardly away:

"I'll err, give you two some space." Paige sighed, threw him a grateful smile and moved slowly into the kitchen, sitting down opposite Henry and taking his hand in hers.

"Listen, Paige-"

"Ssssh," her voice was tender and gentle, "No, Henry. Don't say anything." She smiled again, taking in every feature, every detail on his face, every crease in his skin and line on his palm. She realised now that all the courage she had failed to find seventeen years ago was sat right in front of her, it had been there the whole time, she saw that now. For the first time in her life she didn't feel an overwhelming desire to run from everything difficult. Why hadn't she recognised this seventeen years ago? Why had it taken her such along time to see that Henry possessed all the strength she needed? It took her along time before she could speak again and the whole time she was silent, she was cherishing each second like it would be their last one together, but with each second, she grew more and more certain that she and Henry could fight this together. Seventeen years ago, without Henry, she had lost her battle- this time around her army was by her side and that was enough to protect her from anything. "Henry, there's something we need to talk about." She took a deep breath, about to start, then stopped abruptly. "Wait. Can we go somewhere?"

"Of course we can baby, anywhere you want- you can orb after all!"

"Got a jacket? I've a feeling you'll need it."

Moments later they materialised in one of Paige's favourite thinking spots, The Golden Gate Bridge. "WOW- now this is something I never thought I'd see in my life!"

"Yeah- just don't stand too close to the edge!"

"Oh Paige- this is unbelievable" It was. Evening was creeping over San Francisco and the low, burning sun was casting a glowing golden light across the city, it's beams glinted off the glass windows of houses and offices, turning the whole city into a beautiful warm, mass of shimmering amber. The pink tinted clouds below them drifted leisurely over the tops of buildings, casting soft, fluid shadows and patterning the landscape with their downy silhouettes. From their vantage point high above, they could see the land stretching away for miles, over the top of Alcatraz Island on one side and right out to the ocean on the other, it was view that Paige treasured, something she knew was a unique part of her life and none of the people below, carrying on their lives, even considered the possibility that she could even be where she was. In Paige's mind it was true freedom, it belonged to her alone, but now she wanted to share it with Henry. She slid her arm through Henry's and rested her head on his shoulder, he responded by pulling her into a firm hug and guided her to the edge of the platform, facing north, where they sat gazing at the view, wrapped in each others arms, there legs hanging down over the side. "Do you remember when we were sixteen, that song we used to sing? I was thinking about it yesterday, and this view reminded me of it. Do you remember Paige?"

"Of course I remember Henry, you used to sing it to me everyday. It's still my favourite song you know..." taking her hint, Henry squeezed his arms tighter around Paige and began to murmur the song softly into her ear;

_Elope with me Miss Private and_

_we'll sail around the world_

_I will be your Ferdinand and you_

_my wayward girl_

_How many nights of talking _

_in hotel rooms can you take?_

_How may nights of limping _

'_round on pagan holidays? _

_O elope with me in private _

_And we'll set something ablaze._

_A trail for the devil to erase. _

Paige's heart was fluttering uncontrollably, the moment seemed so perfect and she knew that in a few seconds she would snatch it away from Henry. And once she'd told him, then what? What would it do to their relationship? His gentle, tuneful voice flowed into her ear like water ...

_San Francisco's calling us_

_The Giants and Mets will play_

_Piazza, New York Catcher_

_Are you straight or are you gay?_

_We hung around the stadium _

_We got no pace to stay_

_We hung about the tenderloin_

_And tenderly you tell_

_About the saddest book you_

_Ever read it always made you cry_

_The statue's crying too and Willie May_

But there was no escape, she couldn't run away, she wouldn't run away. And it was now or never.

"Henry, listen to me. There's something really important we need to talk about. I need you to listen to me and let me explain. And I promise you, we're going to make everything ok- my sisters wont let me down and we'll get through this together." her voice trembled and Henry saw the fear in her eyes.

"My God Paige? What is it?"

"This morning, I was thinking, about us, Phillipa, everything that's happened and, well it scared me. I don't know why, don't ask me but it just did. I felt like I didn't trust that the future would be a 'happily ever after' and I so I did something, something called a vision quest and it... it turns out that I was right."

"Paige? What happened?"

"Henry," she said. "I'm pregnant."

"Oh Paige! That's fantastic!" A grin spread itself across Henry's face, and he began chattering excitedly "I'm gonna be a dad! Again...! Wow twice in just a few months? Oh Paige, this is wonderful its-

"Ssssh.." she placed her finger gently on his lips. It broke her heart to see how overjoyed he was. "It's not good news Henry..." like a brick through a window, the perfect, warm evening shattered and returned to chilling atmosphere that had lingered in the attic that afternoon. And a stilted explanation spilled from Paige's trembling lips. When she was done, she looked Henry deep in the eye and told him, in a voice that sounded infinitely more confident than she felt, "I'm not going to let it happen!"

"No! We're not, we're going to sort this out!" Henry jumped to his feet and extended a hand to Paige. "We need to get you a really good doctor, now! They can watch over you 24/7 and from now on I am wrapping you in cotton wool- you're doing nothing in the slightest that could possibly harm you or the baby- and I don't think you should orb anymore- your always saying how strenuous it is, and absolutely no demon fighting and..." an uncontrollable babble of speech that erupted from his mouth.

"It's pointless Henry."

"Don't say that Paige! What are you planning on doing- just letting our baby die?"

"NO! How could you even think I would let that happen!" the harshness in his words cut into Paige, causing her to step back in shock. "No Henry, what I mean is that _wrapping me in cotton wool _is going to have no effect what so ever!" She was shouting now, barely pausing for breath, a hint of panic in her voice. "In my vision quest the baby I saw was pretty much a new born size and I know that vision quests are pretty abstract but premonitions are usually very literal! Phoebe saw us in a hospital with a NEW BORN! I think... I think..." she slowed down, taking in the true horror she was facing. Gulping sobs forcing themselves our of her throat. She paused to compose herself and her words were quiet, barely audible, full of terror , shame and sadness, "I think our baby dies right at the end, just as its being born even." They both slumped, the energy drained from them. Together they sank back down onto the red metal platform, coiling their arms softly around each other, gazing out at the now inky black sky, speckled with a few dull diamonds, and the murky water below them shimmering with the bright city lights of San Francisco as it stretched out beneath their feet. Paige buried herself deep in Henry's shoulder, using him as a sheild from the bitter wind that now grazed their exposed skin, turning their cheeks and hands raw. Henry's left arm wrapped itself tightly around her delicate frame and his right hand slid down her side and rested on her lower abdomen, Paige placed her hand over his and together they sat, saying nothing, listening only to the sound of each others breathing as the hours slipped away from them. They knew that they were wasting precious minutes but neither could bring themselves to tear away from the other and return home to the harsh reality that would cast a sinister shadow over the next eight and a half months of their lives... and, perhaps beyond.

_I love you I've a drowning grip_

_On your adoring face_

_I love you my responsibility_

_Has found a place_

_Beside you on cold mornings _

_And the guise of gentle words_

_Come wave upon me from the _

_family why that's not absurd,_

_you'll take care of her. I know_

_it. You will do a better job._

_Maybe. But not what she deserves..._

Henry knew that this was the right moment to do what he had been turning over in his mind for the past week. He had been so scared of losing Paige a second time and he wanted to make sure that that could never happen. He slipped his hand out from under Paige's, letting hers fall softly on her pale skin, and reached into his jacket pocket, his fingers gripped around a small cube. He pulled it out and pressed it into Paige's palm.

"Open it..." he whispered softly in her ear. Paige gently pressed on the little button that released the lid and a faded but genuine look happiness spread across her face. She tipped her head up towards Henry's, her eyes sparkling like the tiny diamond he had now slid onto her finger, and placed a deep and gentle kiss on his lips.

**OK slushy I know. But hell, we all need something mushy from time to time! **


	15. Chapter 15

**I apologise for the looooooong wait for this chapter- exams are in full swing right about now. Also, I'm keeping the chapters short for a while because of all the work and, I've burnt my hand pretty badly so it's agony to type at the moment. **

Paige toyed with the diamond on her finger, twirling it around and around in circles, taking it off and putting it on again, sliding it up and down her finger, thoughts running through her mind. It had been a week since everything that had happened and still she was no closer to any sort of solution. Phillipa had no idea she was pregnant and Paige had no idea how to tell her, how would she take that news never mind the fact that her little brother or sister would probably never make it home from the hospital. A week really wasn't that long, she told herself and she was after all only a few weeks pregnant- she still had plenty of time to fix this. but the real question was- could it be fixed?

A dull, early morning light crept through the half open window and a cool dawn breeze caused the thin curtains to waft eerily. Paige sighed and gently swung her legs out of bed. Wrapping a pale blue kimono around her self to shield her from the chilly morning, she made her way cautiously towards the window, pausing briefly to plant a soft kiss on the forehead of her sleeping fiancé. Leaning on the sill, Paige stretched her head out into the cold morning air. The sky- pale grey with glowing yellowy golden light creeping out from behind wisps of cloud, giving them a shimmering, hazy outline- told her that in a few hours it would be a beautiful morning in San Francisco. She raised her eyebrows at the irony, or on second thoughts- sick sense of humour, of mother nature. Gazing hypnotically at a stationary cloud, Paige's mind went blank. For the first time in weeks, her brain wasn't buzzing with potions, spells and possible solutions, it was still and calm. For some bizarre, unexplainable reason. Paige felt completely relaxed. So when a thought struck her like a lightening bolt to the Empire State building, she was so utterly shocked that she physically jumped, jolting her head back and smashing it into the hard wooden window frame. "Ouch, SHIT! " The shock brought her out of her meditative state but the idea remained crisp in her mind. Why hadn't they thought of it before? There was one magical being that already knew everything there was to know about the future and was the only thing that could give them clear guidance. Paige smiled, _perhaps I should take up tai chi _she thought and crept out of the door and down the hall to the room where Phoebe lay dreaming peacefully.

"Phoebe…" Paige shook her gently. "PHEOBE"

"Mmmhmmm," came a bleary reply.

"Pheebs – I've got an idea – I think it'll work, but I need your help."

"What? What is it Paige?" Pheobe sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Quick- get dressed- I'm going to wake Piper- we're summoning the Angle of Destiny."


	16. Chapter 16

**UPDATE!! Finally- sorry it's taken so long- I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. But now exams are over, my hand has healed and I'm fighting the writers block so more to come soon, hopefully. Also, apologies to pruethesoldier/ Marina ****because I told you I'd update by this time last week and I didn't, shame on me! But here's the story- I hope you enjoy.**

"I'm not sure about this, Paige."

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"Well I -"

"Do you want to save your nephew!?"

"Nephew? Really? So you think it's a boy? How can you tell this early on? Wow another nephew! OW! _Piper_ what was that for?" Piper's elbow jabbed sharply into Phoebe's ribcage. "Will you _stop_ doing that- it _HURTS_"

"Phoebe. Focus! I know it hurts. _That's the point_! And ssssh. Don't wake the boys."

"Or Phillipa- I don't want her to get wind of this."

"So she still doesn't know about..." Piper gestured towards Paige's abdomen.

"No and I don't want her to- not until it's been sorted, I don't want to scare her."

"You told Henry."

"That's different and you know it. Besides, Phillipa's a witch and she's only just coming into her powers, I don't want her to get frightened off."

"Look, are we going to do this because I really don't think it's a sensible thing to do – the Angel of Destiny does not take kindly to being summoned and..."

"Well desperate times call for desperate measures and I think this more than fulfils the criteria!"

Leo shrugged, he knew well enough that there was no arguing with a Halliwell once they'd set their mind on something. The sisters and Leo where gathered in the attic, amid the familiar chaos of potion debris and household junk, preparing to execute Paige's latest and seemingly most promising idea.

"He won't just change your destiny you know."

"We'll bribe him." Leo raised an eyebrow at Piper's throw away comment. "Threaten him, anything- he knows what we're capable of."

"Look" cut in Paige "I'm not saying that he's gonna go outright and fix it – but he must be able to give us some kind of guidance, I mean the future literally is in his hands."

"Or her – they keep changing, never know who you're gonna get. But they _are_ always understanding... and sweet? You kind of warm to them no matter how cruel your destiny is... weird."

"Again Phoebe with the digressing!"

"It's all about acceptance, you warm to the angle of destiny to help you to accept your future and what can't be changed." But Leo's attempt to ease the early morning, pre coffee tension was redundant:

"So are you saying that if this ones nice then we don't stand a chance in hell of saving my son?!" Paige's voice cracked slightly, fear seeping back into her body.

"No... that's not what I meant Paige ... I just... Have you got the spell?" Leo stammered. He was completely against this idea, his whitelighter instincts seemed to tell him that they were once again on the path to discovering too much. But he knew that he had to let Paige do what she felt she had to and, if Piper and Phoebe were prepared to go along with it then what could he do?

"Yes- now can we please do this?" Paige reached for the spell and the sisters began to chant.

A chilled breeze swept across the attic, whipping up stray papers and ruffling the pages of the book of shadows. Piper threw an apprehensive glance at her husband as the swirling intensified and a towering figure emerged in front of them; Phoebe reached over to Paige and squeezed her hand; Paige's heart fluttered uncontrollably against her chest. Summoning the Angel of Destiny was a dangerous thing and the Halliwells knew all too well the potential consequences of interfering with future events. But desperate times call for desperate measures and Paige, along with her sisters was determined for answers.

"How dare you summon me!" the predictable phrase echoed into the room.

"Well we don't exactly have a reputation for not daring now do we" came Piper's pithy response.

"Look," said Paige. "We just want some guidance." With those words, the angel seemed to melt in front of their eyes. Her stance changed from austere and threatening and she turned to Paige and smiled at her with a tragic and sympathetic smile, her eyes filled with pity and Phoebe was certain she could detect a glimmer of guilt seeping through the authoritative exterior. Paige felt it too and that shattered the final, fragile shard of hope that had been lodged stubbornly within her. "Why?" she whispered? "Why does it have to been like this?"

The angel sighed heavily. "Your destiny _and_ the destiny of the next generation have been mapped out for centuries. Your children are prophesised to have a extraordinary path ahead of them-"

"So you plan to kill one of them off before they can do this." Snapped Piper. Paige closed her eyes and winced at the blunt statement.

"As The Charmed Ones, you are destined to pass on your legacy, your powers and everything else that being who you are entails. But there is only so much room-"

"-room?"

"The powers that you can pass on are limited. And your children must receive the power that was prophesised to them in order for them to be able to fulfil their destiny. Unfortunately, the balance has been drastically disturbed and there is no longer room for all Paige's children to receive their power and without that power, the future is in extreme danger."

"But... but... the future can change, nothing in the future is set in stone."

"Some events are just too important to be left to chance. That's why nature must be allowed to take its course."

"Nature? Not magic."

"Yes- I am aware of your destiny- but it is out of my hands. Nature and magic may cross paths but essentially, they are entirely separate entities. All I know is that Paige must fulfil her destiny in the way it was intended. At present, the future is jeopardised and that cannot happen."

"But wait a minute- as far as we were aware- Paige's future was never intended." Cut in Piper. "No offence" she added in a hurry.

"No taken," muttered Paige.

"What I mean," continued Piper "is that as far as anyone was aware Paige didn't exist until she was twenty five so how could her magical destiny, or whatever, be set in stone. And what about Prue's destiny? Don't stand there and tell me that all this was planned when it couldn't possibly have been! Our sister's death was not planned, neither was Mom and Sam's affair, and as for Phillipa.."

"That's precisely the issue."

"I still don't understand. All I want to know is how I can save my baby- because I simply will not let this screwed up destiny affect my child!"

"It's quite straight forward Paige, the grand design has been interfered with far too much and there simply isn't room for both Phillipa and your..._son_... in the future. They cannot both exists. One of them has to be sacrificed. And the pain of your loss will spur you on to-"

"Don't give me that bull shit again!" Piper bellowed.

"It's beyond my control Piper, it's the fact of the matter."

"Well we'll fight it. We've fought it before and we'll do it again."

"I'm not trying to stop you, and I wish you could. I dislike this as much as you do, but your actions have created a path that now must be followed. I wish you luck, but remember, be careful, in protecting one, you could lose the other." And with that, the Angel vanished. There was a stunned silence. It took Phoebe along time to pluck up the courage to speak.

"So basically, there is something in the future that needs to happen but that got screwed up because of the family trend for secret illegitimate children, and now, to make room for this future event, Paige has to lose her baby."

"Or Phillipa." whispered Paige, "didn't you hear what he said about Phillipa- there isn't room for both, in protecting one, we might loose the other. I have to choose between Phillipa and my," she paused, "my son."

**Pleeeease review... comments would be greatly appreciated, considering the current bout of writers block. Have I lost the plot completely or is this all still making sense? Slightly paranoid about that at the moment.**


	17. Chapter 17

"Oh my goodness, that was torture

"Oh my goodness, that was torture!" groaned Phillipa as she and Kate emerged from a science lab at three o'clock that afternoon.

"I know- I mean if you're held at gunpoint and your life flashes before your eyes, the first thing that springs to mind will be _damn, if only I could recite the atomic mass and group of all the elements in the periodic table! _Besides, he should practice what he preaches, he left out three." Phillipa shot a confused glance at Kate.

"No he didn't- there were one hundred and seventeen on the test, OH JOY! And if anything it felt like waaay more!"

"Oh...yeah... ha ha, silly me..." stammered Kate. Phillipa raised her eyebrows and frowned. "Yeah so,_ anyway_, let's get out of here! Where do you wanna go?"

"Eeeeaar... I dunno. Shopping? Movies? Oooh- there's a fair on in Golden Gate Park!"

"Fair it is!" Kate linked her arm through Phillipa's and the two of them marched off in search of fun in the summer afternoon.

xxxxxxxx

"Where the hell is she? She said she'd be home at four!"

"No, sweetie she didn't, she said she was going out with Kate, she'll be home by nine I expect."

"Honey- you need to calm down. She's allowed to spend time away from the house. She's seventeen, she's pretty streetwise and we need to trust her." Henry put his arm around Paige and squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. Paige wriggled free.

"Yeah- well there are other threats now that she probably won't be able to deal with. She's only just coming into her powers but she's on the demonic radar, she probably won't be able to handle an attack and she doesn't even have a whitelighter, so there's no way we'd know if she was in trouble. Besides, after this morning, I would've thought you all would have been a little bit more vigilant!"

"OK! I'll call her, ask her to come home," offered Henry.

"That's just going to piss her off," reasoned Phoebe.

"Well we'll tell her it's a family emergency!"

"And when she gets home and there's no emergency?"

"At least she'll be home."

"But she'll be pissed off and will probably just ignore you next time. I mean common Paige, don't you remember what it was like to be 17?"

"Yeah, I do- both my parents were dead and I abandoned my daughter in a subway station."

"Sorry," mumbled Phoebe. No-one spoke.

"I just, want to be sure that she's safe."

"I know you do sweetie- we all do," Phoebe moved over to Paige, "but-you can't suffocate her, especially without giving her a good reason. I think, I think we should tell her."

"NO!" insisted Paige.

"I think Phoebe's right." Everybody turned to look at Henry, shocked by the commanding tone in his voice. Henry was surprised at himself too, normally he left anything magical to Paige, but this wasn't just magic, it was _real life _(or so he called it) as well. "The longer we leave it, the more complicated it will be, she'll have to find out one day, somehow or another, if we can break it to her properly, explain the situation carefully, it'll be better than her finding out in some other way. Besides, I thought we were done with secrets Paige?" Paige sighed, she was fighting a losing battle and she knew it. Hiding the truth from Phillipa wouldn't protect her from it. She thought back to the first few weeks after she and Phillipa had been reunited: standing in front of the mirror, she had offered friendship to her daughter, not parenting. But since then, their relationship had evolved and now Paige felt more like a parent than she had ever thought she'd have a right to. As a parent, she felt the overwhelming desire to protect her daughter, but as a friend she knew she should give Phillipa the respect she deserved and be honest with her.

"But how? I mean, we can't just come out and say- I'm pregnant but either you won't live to see the baby or the baby wont live to see you."

"No! Don't tell her anything about choosing, that'll just make her feel insecure, it won't help anything and it's not going to happen. Explain that because if the baby, the danger from demons increases because the underworld doesn't want to see a new generation of Charmed Ones and they'll do anything they can to try to stop it. Mention when Wyatt was born- that'll help her understand," Suggested Piper.

"But that's not the truth is it."

"Well, she'll know the basic facts, and that's what's important. It's not exactly a lie either. I bet we'll be bombarded with demons shortly."

xxxxx

Laughter and music sailed up into the air from the buzzing fairground. As the afternoon slipped away into evening, the crowds changed from children and parents drifting between dodgems and crazy-golf and hovering nervously around the ghost train, to teenagers and thrill seeking adults forming queues at the more hair-raising rides. Kate and Phillipa threaded their way through the throngs of people milling around on the grass, giggling with ecstasy from their stomach churning ride on the Waltzers. "That was sooo much fun!" smiled Phillipa.

"Yeah, and the guy in red was totally checking you out!"

"Haha, I was wondering why we got spun more times than anyone else. So what now? I've got 3 left, so it looks like this'll be out last ride."

"Eeer, dunno. We've done all the good ones, could do the Waltzers again, or CrazySpaceRockets."

"Urgh! No way, I am never going those things ever again! Oooh- GOHST TRAIN."

"Huh! Biggest waste of 3 ever! Sit in a cart and watch some greasy weirdo parade around in a white sheet trying so make you squeal for their own cheap thrills."

"They're not _all _like that, come on, this one looks ok," and Phillipa grabbed Kate by the arm and dragged her towards the tumbling down wooded cabin that housed the _greasy weirdoes in white sheets. _

xxxx

"Leo, come out and help me look for her."

"No, Paige, I'll go with you, she's my daughter too, we can bring her home and explain this together."

"But Leo can orb, we can look in twice as many places in twice the time."

"Or, you could just scry..."

xxxx

"Ready to have the shit scared out of you?" Kate winked at Phillipa as the metal bar was lowered and the cart jerked into position on the tracks.

"Stop being so sarcastic and try to enjoy yourself!"

"Ok Ok!" They trundled along in the dark, breathing in the musty smell of damp wood, laughing at the glow in the dark ghost outlines and making their own werewolf noises. A plastic spider fell from the ceiling and landed on Kate's shoulder. She squealed with shock.

"HA! Not so bold now are we!"

"Shut up!" Kate stuck her tongue out, "it just took me by surprise," she nudged Phillipa friendlily and the pair erupted into another fit of blissful giggles. The cart rounded a corner and grinded to a halt, jolting it's occupants sharply forward. The dim, imitation fire light, glowing from plastic flaming torches faded to nothing and the girls where plunged into darkness, only the glimmer of pale light from a chink in the ceiling cut a thin translucent line through the blackness, hitting the metal train tracks of the ride and shining a silvery hue over a small section of the tunnel.

"Eeer Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we've broken down?"

"Nah, just another little gimmick, that's all." Phillipa tensed, it had just got a little too creepy for her liking. They sat in the dark, waiting for something to happen, a fibreglass vampire to pop out in front of them, or a cackling costumed woman to emerge from behind a hidden pillar. Nothing.

"Kate?"

"Ssshh. Don't move." Kate placed her hand on Phillipa's arm and Phillipa was sure she detected a hint of genuine panic in her friend's voice. "Don't make a sound."

"Kate?"

"SSSHHHH!" Phillipa's heart was hammering inside her ribcage and her stomach was swirling in horrible waves of fear. Three more seconds of silence. Then Phillipa shrieked as a blazing ball of fire shot out of nowhere and exploded inches from her head. Beside her, she felt Kate stand up and scream "FIREBALL" at the top of her voice. Turning round to join her friend , Phillipa saw another fireball, that had been heading straight towards her, swerve from it's path and, swaddled in a circle of swirling blue lights, veer off towards Kate, who sent it shooting back towards it's sender. The cloaked figure who received the blow erupted in a mass of orange flames and exploded. But another figure was emerging, a tall, overbearing man, clad in a battered leather jacket and whose bare chest sported a vast tattoo of a fearsome looking tiger with a serpent's tail, snarling from a vile mouth. A rush of air and a metallic _wooosh_ zoomed past Phillipa ear, gashing her cheek and continued on only to embed itself in the wooded wall of the tunnel. The figure cursed and stepped further towards the two girls. A gasp erupted from Phillipa's lips as the face of the man became clearer. But she had no time dwell on her shock because a cry from her side drew her attention back to her friend who was now struggling in the grasp of the man.

"Kate! O my God Kate!"

"It's OK Phillipa! Run! Just Run!" Kate was wrestling tirelessly with the powerful arms that held her but with a fierce kick she sent the man reeling back in agony, dropping her hard on the floor. "RUN!" she screamed and the girls raced through the tunnel as fast as they could, pursued by their hissing, spluttering attacker.

When they thought that their legs would crumple beneath them, the neon exit sign came into view and Phillipa and Kate shot through the plastic curtain. Behind them they heard a hiss and the demon shimmered out, not wanting to be exposed. The girls carried on running through the fairground, their hearts pounding, until they collided with two people making their way hurridly towards the ghost train. "Mom, Dad!" Phillipa sobbed, collapsing into her father's arms. Kate flopping exhausted on the grass next to them.

"Phillipa? O my God. What happened!?"

"D-d- demon," stammered Kate.

"It was horrible, he... we..."

"OK, sssh, you're safe now, let's get you home." Paige wrapped her arms around her family, gesturing to Kate to join them, and the four of them orbed out of the park and materialised moments later in the living room of the Halliwell manor.


	18. Chapter 18

Piper leapt to her feet as a seething Paige, accompanied by a trembling Phillipa, exhausted Kate and anxious looking Henry, ap

Piper leapt to her feet as a seething Paige, accompanied by a trembling Phillipa, exhausted Kate and anxious looking Henry, appeared in front of her. "What happened!?" she gasped, taking in their faces and knowing that Paige's anxieties had been justified. "Paige?"

"I'll tell you what happened Piper! A demon! A demon attacked the girls at the fair."

"No! Are they ok?"

"We will be," piped up Kate "just let us get our breath back." She paused, suddenly aware that the entire family was gawping at her. "I'm Kate by the way." She gave a small wave of mock self consciousness and a sheepish grin. "Seriously guys, stop staring."

Piper's eyes narrowed, "you seem awfully relaxed about the demon thing."

"Yeah, well... you get used to it. He was a tough one though, and the problem is, I only managed to give him a black eye, didn't vanquish him, the psycho is still out there roaming the streets."

"So are you... are you a _witch_?"

"Busted!" she grinned "Well, part witch, part whitelighter, just like you Paige." Paige frowned, hit by a sudden bout déjà vu, but her thoughts were blocked by Phillipa, who exclaimed:

"You're a witch and you never told me!"

"Er, yeah, sorry 'bout that. Not really my choice, if ya know what I mean."

"Well actually, _Kate_, we don't." Cut in Piper.

"Ok, Ok m-_Piper. _Basically, I'm, well I'm Phillipa's whitelighter."

"But you're 17!"

"and...?"

"Well, you just don't get many 17 year old whitelighters. I mean, how experienced can you be."

"Believe me, very," said Kate. She smiled, "I learnt from the best."

That seemed to satisfy Piper, but not Phillipa: "Why didn't you tell me?" She felt slightly betrayed by Kate, after all, she thought that friends were honest with each other.

"I'm sorry, Phillipa, but being a whitelighter isn't just about protecting you from demons, you have to trust me and the only way you can do that is if we're friends first. And..." she paused, then changed her mind and her voice trailed off to nothing.

Piper raised an eyebrow. "And ...?"

"Nothing."

"Kate- I can tell when someone's not telling me the whole story."

"No- honestly , it's nothing. Can I use the bathroom?" and with that she darted off up the stairs and moments later a door was heard slamming.

The eyes of the Halliwells darted confusedly between one another for a moment before Phoebe spoke up. "How does she know where the bathroom is?"

"hmmn," mused Paige momentarily. "Look," she said after a short pause, "can we please just focus on the real issue- that demon that attacked my daughter. Phillipa- what did he look like?"

"erm... tall... leather jacket... he had a tattoo."

"Ha! That narrows it down," smirked Piper.

"No, listen, Mom-" Paige looked at her daughter. Phillipa was still trembling and was deathly pale. "Mom, I've seen him before- that demon, I recognise him."

"What? When?"

"On the day that I arrived in San Francisco. Remember, I was covered in cuts and bruises and I never told you why. Well, that _demon,_ only I thought he was just a regular weirdo, attacked me."

Paige's blood began to boil with anger. "He attacked you! Before you were even a witch! He attacked you!"

"Yeah- I was walking out of the subway station, and it was really early in the morning so no-one was around, I was just coming up the stairs and he appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me. Well, it was pretty scary, but I managed to do what Kate did and kick him pretty hard, so that bought me some time and I just started running. He was chasing me and well, running isn't my strongest sport, so I was really tired and I turned down an ally way and realised I'd hit a dead end, and he was right behind me. I kept going, thought I could jump the wall or something, my heart was going at 300 miles an hour and I was so scared, I was sure he was going to kill me, but just as I ran out of ground, I orbed out and appeared on top of the oven."

"O My God!" Paige was so angry now that she too was shaking. "But how did he know- I mean you hadn't even come into your powers, you were a secret, no-one even knew you existed. How did a demon know where you were? Why would he want to attack you?"

"Because Phillipa's existence tips the balance of the grand design far too much in favour of good. But when she dies, the scale plummets in the other direction and evil takes over. Evil takes over and we can't fight it anymore." Kate appeared at the foot of the stairs.

"When I die?" Phillipa stammered.

Kate turned a sympathetic face towards her friend. "I'm sorry Phillipa, but where I come from, your death caused a demonic up rise, the elders were slaughtered, demons took over and now my family and all other good magical beings are in hiding."

A stunned silence fell over the Halliwells as this new information sunk in. Everyone's eyes were on Phillipa whose face was a thin mask for the emotions running through her mind. After an age, she spoke. "I die?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry Phillipa." Kate looked her friend directly in the eye and Phillipa could see the pain it was causing to tell her what she had just heard. "But you have to know that I'm here to stop it, I'm not going to let it happen."

"How do I...? When does it happen?"

Kate turned to look at Paige, her eyes filled with disgust. "Ask your mother Phillipa."

"Mom?"

"I...I..." Paige began her sentence, but Henry stood up. Placing a firm hand on his fiancé's shoulder he cut her off.

"No, Paige. Don't say anything until we know exactly who this girl is."

"Dad, it's _Kate_."

"Look, I may not know much about magic but I do know that demons are evil tricksters and notoriously deceptive. How do we know that Kate isn't some demonic parasite that's planted herself here to break this family apart? Don't do or say anything until she's proved to us that we can trust her."

"I can't tell you who I am, but you _have _to trust me."

"I'm sorry Kate, but you have to understand, Henry's right, this family has to be cautious. I think you should leave."

"But-" Piper took Kate gently by the arm and steered her towards the door.

"No please- you can't. You have to listen to me." Her voice became more and more panic stricken as she tried to resist Piper's firm grasp. "Please- this is too important, you won't do this please. Please Mom you-"

"What?" Piper froze. "What did you call me?"

"Mom," Kate whispered.


	19. Chapter 19

**_Hi everyone._**

**_Ok, I have to apologise for the ridiculously long wait for an update. Here's my long list of excuses: I got really busy, then got writer's block (lol), thenmy internet packed in and then I guessI just lost interest in fanfiction for a while, so I'm really sorry, SHAME ON ME:-S But I'm FINALLY updating, so I hope you enjoy this and I hope you can remember what happens. XD _**

Silence was becoming a much more frequent occurrence in the Halliwell Manor than anyone could have imagined

Silence was becoming a much more frequent occurrence in the Halliwell Manor than anyone could have imagined. Neither Kate nor Piper uttered a word, just stared at each other, frozen, Piper's hand still gripping Kate's wrist. Neither of them dared move a muscle. Kate held her breath, internally kicking herself for her slip up and praying to some higher power that present day Piper would stay calm. She watched as every imaginable emotion flittered across her mother's face- incomprehension... understanding... amazement... joy... anger... fear... pride...panic... and then nothing. Piper face went completely blank. Her grip loosened on Kate's arm and she stood up, straight as an ironing board, her long dark hair swished around her shoulders and Kate's stomach twisted as she recognised the familiar, long lost shimmer and fragrant scent of shampoo that radiated from her mom each time she moved her head. Her mind began to wander as she thought of the hours she had spent or would spend as a child combing, plaiting and decorating that hair. And she smiled briefly as she thought of the days of fun that the two of them had...if only she could reverse the damage her aunt had done.

And then Kate's blood began to boil as she thought of Paige- how her aunt could have betrayed her daughter like that!? It had been so hard for Kate to compress her anger towards Paige each time Phillipa had mentioned her. She had become an expert at swallowing the sick to the stomach feeling she got when her cousin's eyes lit up talking about her knew found Mom. Kate hated Paige, she hated her, but she loved the rest of her family more than words could describe and it was these conflicting passions that had brought her to 2008, in an attempt to seek justice and prevent her aunt from doing the most horrific thing Kate thought anybody could do. But Kate was one person in 60 billion and like Chris had told her time and time again, she wasn't alive when the event took place and none of the surviving Halliwell's could be certain of what had happened. However, stubbornness was a genetic trait and Kate had convinced herself that she knew the truth...

She was jolted from her thoughts by Piper who had snapped out of her trance and swept her daughter into hug. Kate buried her head into her mother's soft shoulder and felt, for a moment, as if she truly had returned home. "I can't believe I really do have a little girl!" Piper's smile radiated joy. "But not called Melinda...? Are you the same little girl I saw, or are you somebody else?"

"No, mom, I am that Melinda...just, never call me that ok?"

"What?"

"Well... if you must know, my official, legal or whatever name is Prudence Melinda Katherine Halliwell, but I just stick to Kate... if you don't mind."

"Oh, eeer, don't you like it? I could change it... if you want me to."

"No, I know how much that name means to you. Just trust me- I'm no Prue- no-one can ever live up to that, I'll never suit Melinda-far too sugary, so it's kinda a relief you decided to whack Katherine into my treble barrelled name." She grinned.

Piper laughed. "Your welcome, I guess. Where _on earth_ did I get Katherine from though?" Kate shrugged. "Well, do I get a hug from my daughter or not?" But she barely got to the end of her sentence as Kate threw her arms around her mother, burying her head deep into Piper's warm chest.

"I've missed you so much Mom." Again, Piper didn't have time to retaliate as Kate erupted into tears.

"Hey, hey, what's all this?" Piper put her arms around Kate and steered her to a chair. Within minutes, the whole story came pouring out:

_San Francisco, 2027_

'_Just keep running... don't stop running' thought Kate as she streamed through the dilapidated and deserted streets of a barely recognisable San Francisco. Her feet pounded on the cracked road surface and she began to choke as her lungs filled with the wisps of smoke rising from one of the smouldering piles of ash that had once been a building. But she never stopped running, all too aware that her pursuer was only a few meters behind her. Swerving into an alleyway and out of the demons sight, she orbed quickly away, the powerful demon would soon track her down she knew, but for the moment she had bought herself some time. _

_She materialised on a street that was now only identifiable by the vandalised and almost illegible address on a battered mail box. Prescott Street. Kate swallowed a lump in her throat as she took in the black scorch marks thrashed across the once picturesque manor houses, the smashed windows, overgrown gardens, and piles of rubble. The place that had once been her home was now one of the thousands of abandoned neighbourhoods that sprawled across the whole of the United States. The residents of California had fled their homes many years earlier, fleeing from the demons who were now terrorising most of America and, perhaps the rest of the world. No body knew anymore if anywhere else was safe, global communication had broken down and each nation was living in absolute isolation, cowering in the wake of the horrors of the underworld that had unleashed themselves. Last Kate heard, most of the US citizens were headed for the East Coast, desperately hoping to find a way across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe, where they were clutching at the vague possibility of safety. Kate doubted it very much- the wave of fear had spread across America and she saw no reason why demons would stop there when world domination was finally in their grasp, if they hadn't already, it was likely that within the next year, Europe would be in the same situation as America, but most of the asylum seekers wouldn't even get as far as Illinois before the demons caught up with and slaughtered them. As far as Kate was aware, the Halliwells had been the only humans to remain where they were. But they were in hiding, even charmed power was not enough to take on the massive forces of evil and all the family could do was protect themselves as best they could. _

_Kate's eyes scoured the street, she was outside number 1320, only nine houses away from the place that had once been her family's home. Her stomach turned summersaults at the thought of seeing the manor, but curiosity got the better of her and she found herself compelled to make her way down the street towards the battered shell, it was legendary and Kate had never got a chance to live in it. _

_She half expected the house to be crawling with demons, afterall, it was the location of the Nexus, surely the source and his inner circle would be feeding off its power? But when she arrived, she found it was abandoned and untouched, the most upright building for miles around. Making her way up the path, Kate had a sudden urge to call for her elder brother, just in case. But even if he __was__ always there to protect her, Chris would probably strangle her himself if he knew she was anywhere near Prescott Street! The thought of defying her brother was too tempting and it ignited the thirst for adventure that had always been her best friend and worst enemy. She swung the door open._

_The high pitched creaking of rusting hinges cut through the silent hallway and sun light flooded through the doorway, filling the wreckage with a glow it had been deprived of for many years. The beams of light illuminated the thick dust particles that hung and danced in the air, the only motion in the ghostly house. A shiver ran down Kate's spine, the eerie surroundings, the cobweb streamers and broken furniture looked so neglected she could hardly believe that this place had once been her mother's home. It reminded Kate of a story Chris had once told her, about an old woman named Miss Havisham who had stayed in one room since her wedding day, surrounded by dust and mould and decay for fifty years until she eventually died in a fire that destroyed the house. The story had given Kate nightmares when she first heard it and it was still quite an unnerving thought. _

_But she began to explore the rooms of the house, wading through shattered glass in what was the sun room and picking her way across the woodworm infested floors. In the hall, she stumbled on a heap of splintered wood, cascades of springs and cogs and two twisted metal clock hands- all that remained of the grandfather clock. Her eyes lingered for a moment but she was at the foot of the staircase now and two floors up was the attic. _

_Just like the rest of the house, the attic was a wreck: a crumbling, dust covered wreck. Rotting floorboards had given way and collapsed into the rooms below causing huge scars in wooden floor. Through the largest of these Kate could see the remnants of what she vaguely recalled to be the room she thought might have been her parents bedroom: next to a half collapsed double bed was a crib that might have been Chris's, but then again Chris would have been too old, she must be looking down onto her aunt Paige's bedroom and that was the crib that Paige had ready for... It was eerie thought Kate, that despite the damage to the rest of the room, from where she stood the crib seemed practically unscathed. She bit her lip to stop that train of thought and turned her attention back to the attic. _

_Curiosity was a curse and Kate discovered that as she rummaged her way through the large wooden chest that was in her reach. Pulling out and quickly discarding countless musty objects from it depths including dolls that had seen better days and a shiny red pair of 1960's Go-Go boots, her hands brushed up against something soft and she gasped as she felt herself completely taken over with what she was certain was the beginnings a premonition. Only Kate didn't get premonitions. That was as far as her mind got as the black and white scene unravelled before her... _


End file.
